


I Do

by thanku4urlove



Series: I Do/I Don't-verse [1]
Category: Hey! Say! JUMP
Genre: (and some drama bc I was a dramatic 16 year old when I wrote this), (that sounds bad OMG it's not), (yes it is THAT cliche), Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - College/University, Friends to Lovers, I wrote this in 2014 ok I'm sorry, Inappropriate Use of a Turkey Baster, M/M, Romance, Temporarily Unrequited Love, also Shintaro and Juri bc I'm JuriShin trash, proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-19 07:24:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 34,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16530080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thanku4urlove/pseuds/thanku4urlove
Summary: When Chinen Yuri's father proposed to him the idea of an arranged marriage between Chinen himself and the son of a large hotel owner, Takaki Yuya, Chinen didn't think it would be too bad, really. It would benefit his father's company, and he would be able to get to know Takaki Yuya, someone he had been harboring a shallow crush on. Things didn't go at all how Chinen expected them to.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this fic came to me in like 2009...? And then I wrote it in 2013/2014, which is why it's so cliche and dramatic ;;; But at the time this fic (paired with the companion fic for it called I Don't) clocked in at the largest multichap project I'd ever done at the time, so it deserves a little respect I suppose. This entire story is from Chinen's point of view, and I Don't has the same storyline, but told from Takaki's point of view. Ideally, the two fics are to be read together, but this also works as a standalone multichap. Thanks for reading!

   Chinen blinked his eyes open, momentarily confused and concerned by his surroundings. He was in a very large, comfortable bed, which he didn't mind except for the fact that he really didn't recognize the off-white walls and bedside table around him. But then it all came flooding back in an instant, and he flopped down on his pillows with a sigh. He'd have to get used to this place--it was his new house.

    Pushing himself out of bed, Chinen ignored how cold the hardwood floor was against his bare feet and padded in the direction of the kitchen, trying to smooth down his bangs as he went. He reached it, pulled open the fridge and looking through it before settling for making eggs. A large amount of clanging came with extracting a pan from a bottom cabinet, but soon his breakfast was sizzling on the stove. A few moments later Takaki stumbled in, looking sleepy and confused.

    "Would you like some breakfast?" Chinen asked. The older man's eyes were only half open, hair and clothes a bit ruffled, a few pink indents on one side of his face from lying against it for so long. He looked a bit dumb and a bit endearing, making an amused smile tug on Chinen's lips. He wouldn't mind making some more breakfast. They could eat together. Takaki looked at him for a few moments, face blank, blinking before saying,

    "I don't eat breakfast."

    "Oh."

    Takaki blinked a few more times, then turned and exited the room. Deciding not to ask questions, Chinen finished making breakfast, spooning his eggs on to a plate and sitting down just in time to see Takaki reappear, dressed in tastefully ripped jeans and a t-shirt with his motorcycle helmet under one arm, heading toward the door.

    "Where are you going?" Chinen asked once he could find his voice. The front door slammed in response.

    Chinen got up and looked out the window, watching as Takaki slung one leg over his bike, vehicle quickly growling away. Chinen sighed.

    If Takaki was barely going to be around, then maybe living here would be easy. It would be like living alone, with a handsome stranger dropping by every once and a while to sleep on the couch.

    But Chinen didn't want that. He wanted to get to know Takaki, talk with him, have some hope that maybe this arranged marriage they'd been so thoughtlessly shoved into would not be so bad.

    So Chinen decided to do something about it. If Takaki wasn't going to make an effort to not be miserable, Chinen could make enough effort for the both of them. He quickly prepared Takaki some eggs too, scribbling a note that said "Skipping breakfast is no good!!" on it and sticking it under the plate, covering the meal in plastic wrap on the counter.

    All of their belongings were already unpacked, and Chinen was finished with the schoolwork he would need to have completed up to a week from now, so he took some time to explore the new house. It was small but spacious, with high ceilings and white walls and the occasional big window. It was simple too, with just a bathroom, bedroom, living room, kitchen, laundry room, and small garage. Just enough room for everything. Chinen liked the little estate, head full of ways he could fill up the blank walls as he took a seat on the couch.

    He was immediately enveloped in the scent of Takaki's cologne, which he was quickly coming to recognize, a frown forming on his face. Due to the house only having one bedroom and one bed, Takaki had grumbled out the night before that he would sleep on the couch, taking a pillow and blanket from the bedroom and briskly leaving the room. Chinen would not have had a problem with sharing the bed, but he didn't want to voice the offer for fear of getting strange looks. The blanket Takaki had slept under was flung haphazardly at the end of the couch, pillow resting on the floor.

    Chinen folded the blanket into a neat square, picking up the pillow and hugging it to his chest, breathing in the faint scent of shampoo. He had been hopeful about the arranged marriage--not only would it greatly assist his father's furniture company, to help him get it going, Chinen would be able to get to know Takaki Yuya.

    Sure, the situation wasn't the ideal way to get to know someone, but talking to him normally was something that Chinen saw as completely out of the question. It was the headline-gracing Takaki Yuya, a far off, princely and brooding, motorcycle-riding son of a famously large hotel chain owner, someone that Chinen had been harboring a crush on ever since he'd laid eyes on him. It appeared, however, that Takaki wanted nothing to do with him.

    The dislike was obvious; Chinen had been able to tell since the ceremony. He had been trapped to Takaki's side, giving fake smiles to unknown relatives and greasy business associates. Takaki hadn't been bothered to even do that much, sitting at one of the tables during the reception and scowling, leaving all of the question-answering for Chinen to do.

    But Chinen had already resolved that he wasn't going to let a reluctant Takaki ruin living in this house, and maybe Chinen could get Takaki to lessen his determination to be mad at everything. But for that, he needed a good plan, getting up and grabbing his cell phone. Time to call Ryutaro.  
  
  
  
    After a week, however, Chinen was done. He couldn't talk to Takaki at all; he was either ignored or given one word answers, and most of the time Takaki wasn't even around, riding his motorcycle out of the house as soon as he woke up, coming back late with some sort of takeout dinner. He would eat it quickly, shower, and sleep, and Chinen found himself spending most of his time in his room, texting Ryutaro or Yamada, bored out of his mind.

    It was very exciting when dance rehearsals started up again. The dance studio was within walking distance from both the nearby college and their house, so he headed out early the Thursday before classes started, easily making it to the studio with plenty of time to spare.

    "Chinen!" Yamada beamed as he walked in, waving him over. Chinen waved back, smiling and heading that way. Dance was how he and Yamada had met two years ago, keeping them close ever since. He was quite talented and quite serious, working to be noticed and go professional with his passion. Chinen took dance as more of an enjoyable pastime, but he both admired and was inspired by his friend's dedication.

    "Is Daiki here yet?" Chinen asked. Yamada shook his head and they began to stretch, sitting facing each other on the hardwood floor and extending their legs out. Daiki was a mutual friend, someone close to Yamada that Chinen had just begun to speak to. He arrived less than five minutes later, pushing on Yamada's back in greeting, causing the man to protest in surprise. He set down his stuff and joined their little circle, sitting and beginning to stretch out as well, placing his ear against his right knee.

    "How are you doing?" Yamada asked Chinen. Though they had been texting rather regularly, but Chinen figured that Yamada wanted a verbal report as well.

    "Alright, I guess. As fine as I could be; Takaki and I haven't even held a conversation yet. I keep trying and he keeps running away. Says he's in a band or something."

    "Did you say Takaki?" Daiki asked, sitting upright. "Takaki Yuya?"

    "What about him?" Chinen asked, surprised by the sudden question.

    "You're the little arranged marriage guy? Oh my god." Daiki looked as though his entire world had either reached a new age or was crumbling completely. He was silent for a good minute or two, prompting a "What was that about?" from Yamada.

    "I'm friends with Takaki, he came to my apartment this Tuesday and talked about you a little, I didn't realize..."

    Chinen's curiosity piqued. Takaki had talked about him?

    "What did he say?"

    Daiki seemed hesitant to answer. "Just that... He was a little freaked by the whole situation. He's grateful that you're not a potbellied, greasy, comb-over man, if that makes you feel any better."

    Chinen drew his lips together, considering the evaluation. Then he nodded a bit. It was understandable. He didn't want to know the answer to the question he asked next, but he asked it anyway.

    "Does he...like me?"

    That made Daiki pause. Chinen's stomach churned in anticipation.

    "I don't know. He doesn't dislike you though, I think."

    That was better than Chinen had expected. What with Takaki gone all the time, he figured there must be something fundamentally incorrect that made him deserve to be ignored.

    "He is in a band, though." Daiki said, starting up his stretching routine again. "Remember Yamada, that group that we went and saw? With Inoo in it?"

    Yamada's face was blank for a few moments, Chinen watching in amusement as his friend searched through his memories for the moment Daiki was referring to. Finally, his eyes lit up.

    "That's right! Inoo plays the keyboard, doesn't he? They weren't half bad."

    "They weren't?" Chinen was intrigued.

    "Yeah, I think they're pretty good." Daiki said with a nod. "Takaki's their lead vocalist."

    "Takaki can sing?" That surprised him, but once he thought about it, there weren't any instruments in the house that Takaki owned. "I guess he wouldn't be able to play anything, huh."

    That made Daiki laugh. "Yeah, not really."

    Their instructor clapped her hands and they all stood up, getting ready for class. They had a performance coming up in about a month and a half, and it was going to encompass many different aspects of dance, from ballet to hip hop to even a little bit of jazz. Chinen wasn't doing a jazz routine. Thankfully. He only had a few numbers he was a part of, and then his own ballet solo. He spent the last twenty minutes of class working on it alone, the teacher splitting them all into their solos and pairs that they were in for the performance. Yamada and Daiki were doing a hip hop routine together, Chinen laughing a bit as Yamada pushed Daiki through the choreography, the older whining at him to wait, or slow down.

    "Cut me some slack, would you?" Daiki asked as they left together, bags slung over their shoulders. "I'll get it in time, don't worry."

    "What if I come over tonight and help you learn the rest of it? We got through most of the routine today, it would just--"

    Daiki cut Yamada off with a loud sigh but didn't protest, putting an arm around his friend's shoulder instead.

    "Fine."

    Yamada beamed and Chinen laughed, waving farewell as their paths split. Not eager to go home just yet, Chinen saw a ramen stand at the end of the street, deciding to stop there for dinner.

    "What can I get for you today?"

    The vendor was curiously young, hair brown and bangs long, leaning over to give Chinen a crook-toothed smile. Chinen ordered and the man gave a nod of understanding, turning to the back to begin cooking.

    "Have you ever had trouble talking to someone?" Chinen asked as his food was placed down in front of him. The vendor pulled up a stool from the other side of the counter, sitting across from Chinen, concerned look on his face.

    "What do you mean?"

    Chinen took a bite--the food was quite good--swallowing before saying

    "It's my husband."

    "Trouble in paradise?"

    "I wouldn't quite call it that, either. We were arranged by our parents." Chinen dug around the bowl with his chopsticks. "At first I thought he hated me, but apparently he doesn't dislike me."

    "But you can't talk to him?"

    "He runs away from me!" It felt nice to vent his feelings to a total stranger, not having to front that he was alright so his friends wouldn't worry too much over him. "I give out a conversation starter, and get ignored. I ask a question, and get a one word answer. I even ambushed him outside the shower once, and he just pushed right past me! I want to make this work because I do like him, he'd quite handsome and not mean to me, but I just don't know what to do."

    "Well, if it were me," the man stuck his hand out in introduction "I'm Hikaru, by the way, then I would be less passive and a little more insistent. If you want attention, then go out and get some."

    "I don't want to be an annoyance."

    "He sounds like he needs a little annoyance." The vendor, Hikaru, said with a nod. "You guys live together, right?"

    Chinen made a noise in confirmation, mouth full of noodles.

    "Then he probably won't be able to stay away forever. You're too cute."

    Chinen thanked him with a laugh, taking a few more bites as Hikaru served another customer. Be annoying, huh? He could try that. An entire week of making Takaki breakfast and doing the laundry hadn't had an effect, making the idea of trying something new quite appealing.

    Hikaru let out a sigh as he returned, customer now taken care of, sitting down and saying,

    "I'm envious of you, in a way. I can't wait to get married."

    "Are you engaged or something?" Chinen asked, fishing out a few vegetables.

    "No, not yet. My boyfriend has enough money for that to happen, but he does so much for me already that I want to buy the ring myself. I'm saving up." Hikaru smiled. "Not that he knows. Or that you asked, really."

    Chinen smiled back. He could just tell--when this man and his significant other decided to tie the knot, they would be so happy together. "I'd give you my wedding, if I could."

    "Thanks."

    Chinen stood and paid, thanking the man for both feeding him and listening to him before heading home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional warning in this chapter for mentions of alcohol

    The next day, while texting Ryutaro, Takaki walked over to where Chinen was sitting on the couch, hair nicely styled, holding his motorcycle helmet. He looked very nice, and Chinen tried his hardest not to look him up and down.

    "I'm going to be out late, so, um..." He readjusted his grip on his helmet, Chinen trying not to look too surprised that he was being talked to. "Don't wait up, or anything stupid like that."

    Chinen just nodded, putting his eyes back on his cell phone, stomach twisting up with his lungs. He didn't know where Takaki was going so he didn't know what to say, not saying anything at all and watching Takaki go out the front door.

    Takaki had just talked to him. Deciding that his thumbs simply couldn't move fast enough, Chinen gave up on texting completely and hit 'call'.

    "Chinen?" Ryutaro sounded confused.

    "Takaki talked to me! Without me ambushing or asking questions!"

    "What did he say?"

    "That he would be out late."

    "Chinen..." Ryutaro sounded doubtful. "You don't think he's cheating on you, do you?"

    "You can't cheat if there's no relationship." Chinen answered, stretching out on the couch and sighing. He could almost hear his friend shrugging in the silence that followed.

    "Actually, I bet it's for his band." Chinen said after a moment's thought. "Apparently he's a lead singer, or something."

    "Really? That's kind of cool."

    "Cool?" All Chinen had been able to imagine when he had heard that his husband was in a band was an out of tune Takaki, trying to sing along with a crash of random discordant instruments behind him. But if he thought of it as cool, with Takaki behind a microphone stand, in the nice jeans and hair styled as he had seen it earlier, it really was cool. "Yeah, I guess."

    They fell silent again. Ryutaro was really no good at talking on the phone, so Chinen prompted another subject.

    "How's life on your end? I haven't really been able to visit since I moved."

    "Life?" Ryutaro thought for a moment. "Fine, I guess. I'm so ready to be done with high school." Ryutaro was in his final year at Horokoshi. "But oh, Chinen, Shintaro has a boy."

    "A boy? Like a boyfriend?"

    "Not quite. Remember that scary guy that lived next door to you, with the shaved head?"

    "Was his last name Tanaka?"

    "Yes, him. Well, his younger brother Juri came to move in with him, and he's been making googly-eyes at Shintaro ever since."

    "Well, Shintaro is nice to look at." Chinen said thoughtfully. "Objectively speaking!" he added into the stony silence that followed. He knew how defensive Ryutaro could get about his siblings. "C'mon Ryutaro, I'm married. But bless poor Juri's soul, how have you not scared him off yet?"

    "I've tried, but he has a really major crush on Shintaro."

    "It must be major if he's facing your wrath and is still around."

    "He's always around! They hang out at our house, go out of town, and get into fights sometimes... I caught them trying on dresses together, once."

    "What?"

    "Yup. Shintaro doesn't make a bad girl."

    That made Chinen laugh loudly, pulling himself into a sitting position. "Sounds like this Juri is a keeper."

    "I don't think that Shintaro knows, actually. He does have a pretty thick skull."

    "You should tell him!"

    "No! I couldn't. Besides, then they might start dating. And then I'd have to threaten to suck Juri's brain out of his nose with a turkey baster if he made Shintaro unhappy. I don't feel like putting all that effort in."

    That made Chinen laugh, realizing how much he really missed Ryutaro. "We need to meet up soon. I need to see your stupid face."

    Ryutaro laughed a bit, tone mellowed and affectionate. "I need to see your stupid face too."

    There was a moment of silence, Chinen running his sock-clad feet through the rug, when suddenly, from the other line, he heard a sharp curse.

    "Shit!"

    "Ryutaro?"

    "Shintaro was outside my door the whole time, apparently he heard his name and... I might have just ruined a friendship, I've gotta go. Talk to you later."

    "Oh, alright. Good luck!" Wincing just at imagining the situation, Chinen bade his friend goodbye and heard the click of him hanging up. It was barely past ten, and even though Takaki had told him not to stay awake, the thought of Takaki riding his motorcycle around in the dark made Chinen uneasy, so he decided to pop some popcorn and put on a movie.

    After bustling through the kitchen and hitting 'Start' on the microwave, Chinen walked over to the shelf next to the television, looking through the movie collection.

_Arashi tour DVD. Perfect._

    Bowl of popcorn on his lap, feet tucked under himself and Takaki's blanket around his shoulders, Chinen started the DVD. He finished watching it and was halfway through the special features when a key was being pushed through the lock on the front door, done so clumsily that it made Chinen wary. He turned off the television, picking up the now-empty glass popcorn bowl, holding it up in self defense and walking over to the door just as it opened.

    Takaki looked over him, staring for a few seconds, before a huge, stupid grin split his face. "What are you doing?"

    The words were said strangely, slurred carelessly, even noticeably accented, and Chinen realized that Takaki was drunk. "Are you okay?" He asked.

    "Great! You're cute, did you know that?" Takaki walked in, stumbling over the edge of the rug. He would have fallen too, flailing his arms about, if Chinen hadn't reached out to steady him. Chinen sat him on the couch, trying his hardest now not to laugh.

    "I'm cute?" he asked, wondering what else Takaki would say.

    "And nice." Takaki added, nodding exaggeratedly. "I'm an asshole. I'm sorry. I don't know how to talk to you, so..." He gave a large shrug, leaning back on the couch, eyelids fluttering.

    "I'll go get you some water, how does that sound?"

    "Water is nice too." Takaki mumbled out, Chinen retreating into the kitchen. Once he was there, he leaned against the counter.

    He knew, knew, knew that it was the seemingly large amount of alcohol talking, but he couldn't stop replaying the slurred words over and over in his head.

_"You're cute...And nice."_

    Cute... And nice.

    Smiling to himself, Chinen got the glass of water, grabbing with it a few painkillers that he knew Takaki was going to need tomorrow morning, what with the hangover the older man was definitely going to have.

    When he reentered Takaki was in the same position he had been in when Chinen left, but was fast asleep, head rolled to the side, chest rising and falling evenly, shirt discarded to the floor. Chinen just smiled--Takaki, somehow, was stupidly endearing--putting the glass of water and medicine on the side table and placing Takaki's blanket over him, before going to his own room and going to sleep.

    Chinen woke much later than he intended to. There was only one hour of the morning left, so he jumped out of bed. After changing and brushing his teeth he went into the living room, peering over the back of the couch.

    Takaki had the blanket pulled up to his chin, on his side, face pressed into his pillow. He looked so peaceful, but it was eleven-thirty...

    "Good morning." Chinen tried. No reaction.

    "Good morning?" He tried again, a little louder. Takaki's face scrunched into a wince and he rolled a little, but soon stilled again, letting out a sigh. Chinen sighed too, leaning as close to Takaki's head as he could and taking a deep breath.

    "Good morning!" He shouted. Takaki jolted upright, blanket falling away, one arm going immediately to his bare torso, the other up to his head, finger and thumb pressing against each of his temples.

    "Oh, you're awake!" Chinen said innocently.

    "God, who invented hangovers, where are my clothes...?" Muttering to himself, Takaki laid back down, pulling the blanket over his head so that his toes peeked out from the other end.

    "There's a glass of water and a few painkillers on the side table next to you, I figured you might need them."

    When Chinen got no response he went into the kitchen, looking for something to make for breakfast. "Hungry?" he called out.

    "Will there be coffee?" Takaki grumbled back.

    "Sure."

    No response. Chinen was in the middle of buttering toast when Takaki walked in, shirt on now, going straight to the table and sitting down, flopping forward in a heap. Chinen laughed.

    "Shut up." Takaki mumbled.

    Once all the food was on two plates, Chinen walked over. "Food's ready!" He singsonged, louder than he needed to, just to get a groan from Takaki. The older man pulled himself from the table, face scrunched up.

    "Do you have to speak so loudly?" He asked.

    "No, sorry." Chinen knew he was being rude, and that giggling completely invalidated the apology, but he couldn't help it. They ate in silence for a while, Chinen taking a breath before speaking.

    "So, where were you last night that got you so hung over?"

    "We had a gig at a club."

    "We?"  
      "The band."

    Ah. Something they could talk about.

    "How many people are in your band?"

    "Well..." Takaki began counting on his hand. "We have a guitarist, bassist, pianist, drummer, and me. So five."

    "What do you do?" Even though he already knew, Chinen decided to ask the question anyway.

    "I'm, uh, the singer." Takaki ducked his head as he spoke, and Chinen wasn't sure why. Embarrassment? Modesty?

    "Really? I think that's cool."

    Takaki smiled as he looked back up. It was a small smile, sure, but it was the only one that had even been directed Chinen's way. Something jumped in Chinen's chest and be had to divert his eyes, clearing his throat and saying loudly,

    "So, are you any good?"

    That made Takaki laugh, and Chinen nearly cursed under his breath.

    "I can't answer that."

    "Why not?" Chinen asked back, meeting Takaki's eyes and jutting out his chin.

    "You should hear us sometime, and then tell me what you think. How does that sound?" Takaki offered, eyebrow raised. Was Takaki really going from barely looking at Chinen to inviting him to one of his shows? Chinen has to get out of there. He had to text Yamada. Or roll around on his bed and smile like an idiot.  _Something._

    "I bet you suck." Chinen said jokingly. Takaki laughed again, an amused look on his face, Chinen giving him a smile before going off to his room. He closed the door behind himself, then jumped, face first, on to his bed, shoving his face into his pillow and letting out a muffled squeak. They had just had a conversation, an honest-to-god conversation with laughing and smiling involved. It had been so nice. He could feel that, if they actually began making an effort to get to know one another, he might just be able to fall in love with Takaki Yuya.

    He called up Yamada and told him all about what had happened, down to every last detail, unable to keep the smile off his face. He told Hikaru, the nice man at the ramen stand, stopping by after dance practice that following Thursday.

    "That's fantastic! Finally cracked him, huh? How did you get him to talk?" Hikaru asked, pushing Chinen's bowl of food forward.

    "Part of it was the advice you gave me, you know, about being a little annoying. Part of it though, I think, was that he was really hung over."

    "Hung over?" Hikaru asked with a laugh.

    "Yup." Chinen laughed too. "I gave him some painkillers and coffee and breakfast."

    "That'll do it." Hikaru said, nodding.

    "What'll do it?" An unfamiliar voice from behind Chinen asked. A huge, endearing smile broke out on Hikaru's face, and Chinen turned in curiosity.

    It was a young man, extremely tall and skinny, wearing a smile holding the same level of affection as Hikaru's as he leaned over the counter, pulling Hikaru close by the arm and placing a short kiss on his lips.

    "Painkillers and coffee and breakfast." Hikaru answered after a moment, sounding slightly dazed. Then he snapped out of it with a shake of his head, saying "Kota! I have a customer!"

    "I don't mind." Chinen said quickly. "It's fine."

    "That's what I tell him, but he still gets all flustered." The newcomer said, clapping Hikaru on the arm. He held out a hand to Chinen in introduction.

    "I'm Yabu."

    Chinen made a light noise in response, shaking his hand and bowing slightly, mouth too full of food to respond. Yabu laughed and nodded. Chinen swallowed, covering his mouth with one hand as Yabu took a few steps behind the stand.

    "Is this the guy you want to...?" Chinen mouthed, pointing to his own ring finger. Hikaru nodded placing a finger over his lips. Chinen nodded back.

    Yabu wound his arms around Hikaru's waist. "You said you were closing early tonight."

    "Early still means later than eight PM," Hikaru turned, facing Yabu "so you're going to have to wait." He poked Yabu on the nose, ducking out from between Yabu's arms just as another customer walked up. They served him together, moving around each other easily in the small space, and Chinen wanted to just offer up his own ring and let Hikaru use it to propose then and there. He could get Takaki's ring too, it wasn't like his spouse wore it anyway.

    "How many more customers do you have to serve now?" Yabu asked Hikaru, who laughed.

    "Yabuchii, how am I supposed to know that? I do want to come home, but I can't close up yet. I'm sorry."

    "But Hikaru..." Yabu whined. "We won't get to see each other as much when college starts up again."

    "You're enrolled too?" Chinen asked. His classes began the following Monday. "Where?"

    "Waseda University. You?"

    "That's where I'm going to be!" Chinen exclaimed. "What days do you have class?"

    "Only Tuesdays and Thursdays." Yabu said happily.

    "Oh, mine are on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I doubt we'll ever see each other."

    "Still though, small world isn't it?" Hikaru remarked. Chinen found himself thinking the same thing when, entering his home after his first day of classes Monday afternoon and none other than Hikaru and Yabu, along with three other young men, were lounging around in the living room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I mention that this is also sort of a band AU?

 

  "Alright, now you guys really have to leave." Takaki said from where he was exiting the kitchen.

  "Hikaru...?" Chinen couldn't help but ask the question.

  "You're the guy from my ramen stand with the asshole husband!" Hikaru exclaimed. The pieces fell into place quickly and he pointed at Takaki. "You're the asshole husband?"

  "I'm...what?"

  "Do you two know each other too?" Daiki asked. That was the first time Chinen realized that Daiki was there, stretched out a bit on the rug, giving him a smile and a wave.

  "Too?" Takaki echoed.

  "I've met him as well, but I didn't know he was Chinen." Yabu said, giving Chinen a wave of a hand. "You are much too cute for this idiot, just so you know."

  Chinen laughed a bit. A man with dark hair and a smile got up from the couch to greet Chinen. "I'm Inoo Kei; it's great to meet you."

  Inoo Kei. Now he had a face to match the name of the guy that Daiki would mention during dance practice.

  "I've heard about you from Daiki, it's nice to meet you too."

  "Nothing bad, I hope." Inoo said, turning to Daiki with a raised eyebrow.

  "I couldn't say anything bad about you." Daiki responded. The sentence was said in a simple, dismissive way, but it rooted Inoo to the spot for a few moments.

  "I'm Nakajima Yuto." This young man was lanky and tall, and the smile on his face was extremely infectious. "I play the drums."

  It took a moment for Chinen to understand why that comment was relevant. "Takaki, this is the band?"

  "He knows about us?" Hikaru asked, glancing at Takaki and sounding surprised. Takaki nodded, waving his arm dismissively and saying

  "Since all of you apparently already know him, you can introduce yourselves."

  "Oh, don't be like that." Yabu protested. "I just met him when I stopped by Hikaru's ramen stand and he was there." He then turned to Chinen. "I play the guitar."  
      Chinen nodded.

  "I play bass guitar." Hikaru told him. "And, Takaki, I met Chinen when he stopped by the ramen stand for dinner, and to complain about this dumb husband he has that never talks to him."

  The pointed statement was ignored by the older man, and Chinen hoped that he wasn't angry.

  "I met Chinen through Ryosuke; we all go to the same dance studio." Daiki said. "I don't play an instrument, but Inoo is on keyboard."

  "Yeah, you've mentioned that." Chinen said with a nod. He wouldn't have remembered that information on his own, but upon hearing it knew that it had been mentioned to him once or twice previously.

  "And I play," Yuto began.

  "The drums." Chinen finished, trying to commit the names and faces and instruments to memory. "I would love to hear you all play sometime." He glanced at Takaki, who hadn't moved since he had gotten home, and tried to give him a smile. Inoo got up from the couch, grabbing Takaki by the arm and pulling him into the kitchen.

  "We practiced in your garage, I hope you don't mind." Hikaru said, Chinen taking off his backpack and setting it down.

  "Of course not. You guys can come over whenever you like."

  "That's good, because we need a new place to practice." Hikaru said sheepishly.

  "My basement is under construction." Yuto explained.

  "Oh, is that where Takaki has been going every day?" They must rehearse a lot.

  "Not every day, but he's been at all of our houses, too." Daiki said. "Apparently he told you that what, he doesn't eat breakfast? He would come whining to me and begging me to cook him stuff. "

  "I've been making him breakfast every morning anyway." Chinen protested. "He could have eaten here."

  "Takaki is a little dumb." Yabu said with a laugh.

  "Are we talking about Takaki being dumb?" Inoo asked, he and Takaki coming back from the kitchen. "I have plenty of stories."

  They all laughed at that, Takaki saying "I will kick you out of this house. Physically."

  Inoo ran behind Chinen and gripped his shoulders, ducking in mock fear, and Chinen had to laugh. He already liked Takaki's friends quite a bit, and it seemed they liked him too, which made him quite happy. He sat down near Daiki on the floor, as the couch was already taken up by Yabu, Hikaru, Takaki, and Yuto. It had fallen silent, and Chinen decided begin conversation with something he'd been wondering.

  "So, Daiki, if you're not in the band then why are you here?"

  The silence he was met with made him realize that nobody, not even Daiki himself, really knew the answer. Daiki shrugged.

  "Because I'm their only fan. I didn't know I needed a reason."

  "You don't." Hikaru answered.

  "Guys, leave at least a little room for Jesus." Inoo remarked, and that was when Chinen noticed how they were sitting; Hikaru's arm was around both of Yabu's shoulders and hand slid just barely inside Yabu's v-neck collar, palm resting on Yabu's chest. Yabu had his hand on Hikaru's knee. Hikaru didn't react to Inoo's protest but Yabu lifted his hand up, looking confused just as the doorbell rang.

  "Food!" Yuto leapt from the couch faster than Chinen thought was humanly possible, practically vaulting over Inoo, Daiki, and him to get to the door.

  It was a delivery man, Takaki getting up as well and paying for the food that was stacked in Yuto's arms. They both turned back to the room once the man was gone, Yuto looking slightly put out.

  "We didn't order anything for Chinen."

  Oh.

  "We could all just share," Yabu proposed "Or--"

  "No." It would be easier and less trouble for everyone if he just cooked himself something, getting up from the floor. "It's fine. I can--"

  Takaki's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

  "Actually, I did order you something." He said. Chinen couldn't hide his surprise as he turned to face him.

  "Really?" What he wanted to ask was why, why had Takaki thought to do that for him, but it seemed rude.

  Takaki's hand ran down his arm lightly as he dropped it from Chinen's shoulder.

  "Well, I knew you'd be coming home, so..." He trailed off, pausing. Takaki had thought of him. "I don't know what you like, so it's just chicken, but..." He stopped again, obviously feeling awkward now, and Chinen didn't even try to contain his smile.

  "That sounds great, thank you."

  After a slight, awkward nod, Takaki went into the kitchen. Yuto handed Chinen his meal, and he resumed his place on the floor next to Daiki.

  "That was cute." Inoo said. "I didn't know Takaki could be so awkward."

  Chinen was still smiling like an idiot, causing Daiki to poke his cheek.

  "Do you like him?" He asked. Chinen briefly considered lying, but decided against it, nodding instead. The entire room cooed.

  Chinen had just finished his dinner when Hikaru got a call on his cell phone. He could tell by Hikaru's tone of voice that it wasn't a friend or a relative on the other line, and the rest of the band members got increasingly excited as the phone conversation went on. Before Hikaru even had a chance to explain, Inoo asked

  "Where are we playing?"

  "What's going on?" Chinen whispered to Daiki.

  "They got asked to play at a club this weekend." Daiki whispered. Then he raised his voice, addressing the whole group.

  "Chinen should come."

  The approval that met Daiki's statement made Chinen smile. Yabu looked at Chinen, pointing and asking "You are legal, right?"

  It was a valid question--Chinen knew he didn't look his age. "Just because I'm short..." That garnered some laughs, Chinen nodding and saying "Yes, yes I am."

  "Awesome." Yabu smiled. "We'll just tell them you're with us."

 

 

  Though Chinen was old enough to go to bars, he'd never been to one before, afraid that it was showing by the way he was awkwardly standing against the back wall, hands shoved into his pockets. Yamada was more comfortable than Chinen had expected, coming back from the writhing mass on the dance floor with sweat on his forehead and a smile on his face. Chinen decided not to ask about it.

  "I didn't know Daiki had a boyfriend." Chinen said as Yamada approached him. Yamada blinked blankly.

  "What?"

  "Yeah." Now Chinen was confused. "He and Inoo, right?"

  "Oh." Yamada broke into laughter. "They're not dating."

  "Why not?" They had been so cute together, so comfortable and close, with all of the physical contact and casual kind words that Chinen had just assumed... "They do like each other though, right?" They had to.

  "Well, Inoo is head over heels." Yamada explained, leaning against the wall next to Chinen. "I've had to explain to Inoo a few times that no, I don't have a crush on Daiki, and even still I feel he kind of doesn't like me. Daiki, on the other hand, does like Inoo."

  "Obviously." Chinen interjected.

  "Except he doesn't think he does."

  "But..."

  "I know." Yamada sighed. "And I'm afraid of saying anything, because I don't want to ruin their friendship, or something equally disastrous. I think that's why Inoo hasn't confessed either."

  Chinen nodded. It was a bit of a delicate situation.

  "Someone should just lock them in a closet for a while." Yamada said.

  "One on one spin the bottle." Chinen agreed, making Yamada laugh.

  "They just finished setting up in the back, they should be on next." Daiki reported, walking up to them. "What are you guys talking about?"

  "You." Yamada responded bluntly. "How long are they going to perform for?" Yamada hadn't really been too keen on coming, but Chinen had begged for some company, not wanting to go alone.

  "C'mon Yamada, they're a lot better than the last time you saw them. I think you'll like it. Besides, they've gotten a drummer since then."

  Yamada was about to retort with something when the previous performer finished his song, bowing to the applause and exiting the stage. Chinen flailed an arm out, repeatedly hitting either Daiki or Yamada--he didn't care to see who--saying excitedly,

  "They're coming!"

  Daiki laughed at his enthusiasm, grabbing his arm and placing it by his side. Then the band entered the stage rather shyly, bowing and smiling at everyone. The meek personality didn't last long however, Yuto counting them off, the first song starting.

  It was obvious from the beginning, from the unrestrained smiles and the passion in Takaki's voice--Takaki's  _voice_ \--that they greatly enjoyed what they were doing. Takaki looked great, bathed in spotlight behind a mic stand. Chinen guessed that they all did, but he couldn't take his eyes away from the lean man in the center.       Barely halfway through the first song Yamada turned to Daiki and said,

  "They are good."

  Chinen had to agree. All of the instruments fit in and sounded great and all of their players were obviously talented. Takaki's voice was deeper than Chinen had anticipated, and he loved it, and if he had any less self control he probably would be jumping up on to the stage and kissing him. Takaki met his eyes for a moment, blinking before glancing away. Chinen melted all over the floor.

  The first song folded seamlessly into the next one amid the applause. This song had many different instrument solos, and Takaki spent much of it flitting around the stage, dancing around his friends, the amount of fun he was having showing clearly on his face. At the drum solo, Yamada grabbed Chinen's arm tightly and said

  "I think I know the drummer."

  "Yuto?" Chinen asked.

  "Nakajima Yuto?" Yamada asked back. When Chinen nodded, Yamada's eyes went wide.

  "Oh my god."

  He didn't elaborate further than that, and once the drum feature was over and Yuto had twirled his sticks between his fingers, Yamada released his arm.

  That song had a definite end, met with thunderous applause. The third song was faster and vocal heavy, and Chinen felt he couldn't breathe, the long note at the end nearly being drowned out by the reaction of the audience, Daiki and Chinen and Yamada joining in the cheering.

  They performed two more songs, bowing and smiling at everyone again, exiting considerably more comfortable than they had been when they went on.

  "This way." Daiki said in the midst of the applause, motioning for the two of them to follow him. They did, Chinen giggling slightly at the pride in Daiki's voice as he said,

  "They're with me," and walked through the door a staff member held open for them.

  The first thing that happened when they entered the room containing the rest of the band was Daiki running in, squeezing an unsuspecting Inoo around the waist and spinning him around. Inoo laughed, alerting the other band members of their presence.

  "You guys really sounded fantastic." Chinen said earnestly, the statement met with blinding smiles.

  "Should I go talk to him?" Yamada hissed in Chinen's ear, sounding anxious.

  "Who? Yuto?"

  Yamada nodded. "We were really good friends when we were little kids, but then I moved... But he grew up, and apparently he got really hot, and--"

  "You're really hot too. Go on." Giving his friend a nudge, Chinen watched with an excited grin as Yamada gave Yuto a tap on the back. Yuto turned from where he was putting his drums away, confusion, then recognition, then amazement crossing his features.

  "...Yamada?"

  Yamada nodded, and Yuto gave him an excited hug. Finding himself alone, Chinen walked over to Takaki, who saw him and waited, an almost expectant look on his face. Chinen searched his brain for something to say that expressed how much he enjoyed that and how great they sounded that was less embarrassing than "I want to remarry your voice." All he managed to come up with was a rather lame

  "So, you don't suck."

  That made Takaki laugh. "Why, thank you."

  "Really though, you all were great. You were great. Your voice is..." He had to stop himself before he said something truly embarrassing. "I like it."

  "Oh, thanks." Takaki was smiling, flat-out beaming, and it made Chinen's heart swell in his chest, smile breaking on to his face.

  The moment was over when he was shoved forwards by the Daiki and Inoo pair, who were dramatically ballroom dancing next to Hikaru and Yabu around the tiny space full of people. He stumbled, reaching out; Takaki extended his arms to catch him and their palms met, fingers interlocking.

  "I've got you." Takaki said. "You okay?"

  Honestly, no, because thanks to the soft concern in Takaki's eyes he felt stupid and flustered. He just nodded, stepping back and putting his arms by his sides, the imprints of Takaki's touch lingering on his hands.

  The accidental collision turned Daiki's attention to him, the older tapping Chinen on the shoulder and asking, "Hey, don't we have to leave, or something?"

  Oh. Right. They did have to go; Yamada wanted to get home early because he was committing his entire next day to dance rehearsal, one of the main reasons that he'd been reluctant to go with Chinen in the first place.

  "Yamada!"

  His older friend was sitting on the stool Yuto used when playing his drums, sticks in his hands. Yuto was behind him, holding Yamada's wrists and controlling his movements, making Yamada laugh. Chinen didn't want to break up the endearing scene, but he knew his friend would hate it in the morning if he didn't get enough sleep, walking over.

  "Yamada, don't we have to go?"

  Disappointment crossed Yamada's face. "Who said that?"

  "You did."

  "Oh." Rather put out, Yamada stood, giving Yuto his drumsticks back. "We do have to leave."

  "Why?" Yuto asked, spinning a stick between his fingers.

  "I have this dance thing, a really famous teacher is going through the town and said he was giving free lessons, it's--"

  "Yamada." Chinen had to cut him off, knowing that his friend was liable to prattle on about this famous dance guy for much too long.

  "You dance?" Yuto asked, sounding surprised. Yamada nodded.

  "Yes, he's fantastic." Chinen agreed with a wave of his hand, grabbing Yamada's wrist. "C'mon."

  "Wait!" Yuto reached an arm out. "Before you go, if you wouldn't mind...?" The way he held his phone out and the asking look on his face finished his question for him, and Yamada beamed, Chinen standing there and tapping his foot as Yamada put his number in. The reunited friends awkwardly bid each other farewell, and they were on their way, Daiki joining them.

  "What was that about?" He asked.

  "Yamada has a crush." Chinen sing-songed. Yamada gave him a look.

  "What, am I wrong?"

  Yamada didn't answer, Chinen smirking.

  "Wait, on Yuto?" Daiki asked as they got into his car. "Oh, that's cute."

  "Isn't it?" Chinen agreed. "Reunited childhood friends. You guys are as good as soul mates."

  "Don't be ridiculous." Yamada protested. Chinen knew it was a bit much, but teasing Yamada was fun. "Besides, I don't even know if he likes me too, or anything."

  "Yamada, he had stars in his eyes just looking at you." That statement wasn't an exaggeration, and it made Yamada flush and say defensively,

  "I don't have the time to like anyone! I have to dance, and do muscle training, and--" Yamada's indignant list was cut off by his cell phone, the text tone ringing.

  "Is it Yuto? Already?" Daiki asked.

  Yamada nodded. "He wants to know when I get home." He responded. "Apparently, Daiki, you're not a safe driver?"

  "Just because of that _one time_ ," Daiki started with a sigh. Chinen laughed, and they made their way home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional warnings for throwing elbows while playing mario kart

 Chinen didn't really go out much to see the band after that, simply because he didn't have the time or sleep to sacrifice for it. He still saw plenty of the band, though; they came over at least twice a week and rehearsed in the garage, and if Chinen could he would go and sit in on practices. They really were a great group of people--Yabu and Inoo were easy to get along with, and Hikaru was obviously the mood maker. Though Yuto was very nice, and Chinen wouldn't hesitate to begin calling him his friend, he asked so many questions about Yamada that it started to become a slight annoyance.

  A few weeks after the rather exciting news of becoming regular performers at a bar every weekend, Yabu caught a rather bad cold. The next rehearsal, when Chinen came home from class, there was a stranger in the garage with a mole under his eye and a guitar in his hands. He was broad-shouldered and taller than Hikaru, very focused on the music in front of him, trying to keep up with the rest of the band as they played through a song.

  "Hi." Chinen said, announcing his presence once the song was over. "Who's this?"

  It took a few moments and a nudge from Yuto's elbow for the young man to look up from the music and introduce himself.

  "I'm Okamoto Keito."

  There was a bit of a silence, Keito getting the hint and elaborating.

  "I'm Yuto's friend; I'm here in Yabu's place."

  Chinen nodded at the explanation, smiling. "I'm Chinen Yuri; it's nice to meet you."

  "Chinen?" Keito echoed, recognition taking shape on his face. Chinen nearly asked about it, but Yuto counted off, and they began another song. He brought it up with Takaki once the band had gone home, but Takaki just shrugged.

  "He said he'd heard of you before."

  Aside from the band, from what Chinen could tell, Takaki didn't do much. When Chinen was home either they would talk, or Takaki would sit on the couch and play video games. Chinen himself did most of the housework, but since it was just the two of them he didn't much mind. If Takaki ever tried to help him, it usually ended up as a rather hilarious learning experience for the older man. When Chinen found out that Takaki couldn't work a washing machine he just couldn't let that one slide, taking time to explain settings, colors, and after four loads and two ruined shirts, Chinen deemed the conquest successful.

  He and Takaki began eating meals together, something that they didn't plan but ended up becoming routine. It was only breakfast when Chinen didn't have class and dinner, the second meal rather laid back, usually happening on the couch instead of the dinner table. Talking with Takaki was easy and quite enjoyable, something Chinen began to need as both his academic and outside of school activities got more difficult.

  Dance rehearsals were more busy and stressful because the recital was less than a week away, and the production still hadn't quite come together. Rehearsals left him exhausted, dragging himself home, showering, and trying to convince himself to study.

  The first big set of exams of the semester were also fast approaching, a week after the dance recital. He knew that he was probably over stressing about the whole thing--he was a good student, he paid attention and consistently did well, but he still felt it necessary to study every night for at least something. He still didn't understand what he was supposed to know in mathematics, something about polynomials and too many letters and calculus, which wasn't getting any easier to understand when Takaki decided he would blast music in the living room at the times that Chinen decided to study. It was something he couldn't stand, and it only took a few days of trying to see math problems between rock beats for Chinen to get fed up.

  Finally he couldn't take it anymore, throwing his pencil down and storming into the living room, not even looking at Takaki as he ripped the stereo cord from the wall.

  "...Chinen?" Takaki was alarmed. "What...?"

  "It's..." Chinen decided against explaining or apologizing, turning on his heel to go back to his room. He had math--dumb math--to study for. Takaki grabbed his shoulder, stopping him and turning him around.

  "What's wrong?"

  It was like a dam inside Chinen broke at the question, and the next thing he knew he was blurting out everything, telling Takaki about his exams, the recital three days from now, and just about anything else worrying his mind that he could think of. He didn't particularly want to rant at Takaki, to take it out on him, but once the words started he couldn't stop them, not even keeping track of what he was saying. He suddenly felt drained, as though the too-long explanation had loosened a weight from his shoulders, and he put his head in his hands.

  Once he was finished speaking and his breathing was under control, he glanced up. Takaki was silent for a few moments, face expressionless except for a tint of concern.

  "You need to relax." He remarked.

  "I don't have time to relax!" Chinen sighed. "You don't understand."

  "No, you don't understand." Takaki shot back. "You have a dance recital this Saturday, right? It's not going to get much better between now and then, aside from a few finishing touches--the level that your performance is at today is about how it's going to be then, which I'm sure is great. Then you have a whole week to prepare for your tests, which I know you'll pass with flying colors, because you're incredibly intelligent. But right now, you need to take a breath and stop stressing."

  "Should I really be taking advice from a high school dropout?" Chinen asked. He was really only half joking, but it made Takaki laugh.

  "Just sit back for an hour, or something. Please?"

  The imploring look he was receiving made him consider the idea. "And do what?"

  Takaki thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Try to beat me at a video game."

  Leave it to Takaki to think if something completely unproductive. Chinen needed to study. He needed to sit in his room, stare at his math textbook, and resist the urge to rip his own hair out. But he  _wanted_  to play video games with his husband. He heaved an exaggerated sigh.

  "Fine."

  It was surprising how wide Takaki smiled at his agreement, going over and setting the game up. Chinen took a seat on the couch, grinning at Takaki's choice--he'd played Mario Kart before with Ryutaro, and had gotten quite good at it, usually able to beat his gaming inclined friend. He could hold his own in various different video games thanks to Ryutaro, and now that was finally being put to use. Takaki threw him a controller, which he caught, before jumping up on the couch next to Chinen with a thump. They started the first race, and after some elbowing and a little smack-talk, Chinen happily reported that he came out victorious.

  "I didn't know you could... I've never seen you play before, I'm surprised." Takaki admitted, placing his controller in his lap.

  That made Chinen grin. "I have a friend that's crazy about video games. It's impossible to have grown up with him and not know a few tricks." He, of course, was talking about Ryutaro, the only friend of his that Takaki hadn't yet met. "In fact, you two might get along pretty well." He could see the two easily becoming friends.

  For some reason, Takaki seemed doubtful. "I guess we could see, if I meet him."

  "When." Chinen amended. He really wanted Ryutaro to come over soon. It had been weeks since he'd seen his friend. Plus, Ryutaro had to meet Takaki. "Maybe he could come over this weekend."

  Takaki brought his lips together, nodding in the direction of the television screen.

  "From what I understand, you just beat me, and I demand a rematch." The older man changed the subject, jutting his chin out. Chinen shrugged.

  "Fine. As long as you're okay with losing."

  The cheekiness in the statement made Takaki raise an eyebrow. Chinen raised his back. Giggling, they started race two. That match was definitely closer, Chinen barely managing to scrape by Takaki's Toad on a Bullet Bike and snag first place.

  "I'm going to win the next one." Takaki declared defensively. Chinen laughed, saying "If you're sure."

  However, Takaki did win, the older man throwing his arms up and letting out a shout. Chinen scrunched up his nose, giving Takaki a look of mock frustration. Takaki stuck his tongue out childishly, and Chinen stuck his tongue out right back.

  "Best three out of five?" Takaki offered. Chinen agreed. At the end of the hour, they'd played much more than five games; both of them had their legs up and crossed, knees touching, elbows and shoulders bumping in the fight for first place. It was more fun than Chinen had expected it to be, and he could feel his stress completely melting away. He was almost worried that maybe he hurt Takaki on occasion because he'd learned to play by playing dirty, but Takaki picked up the strategy as well, elbowing him at least twice.

  He was out of practice, however, and Takaki ended up winning, but by only a few points. Surprisingly, he didn't gloat about it, just setting down his controller and giving Chinen a smile.

  "Feeling better?" He asked. Chinen nodded. He really, really did.

  "Thank you."

  "Being a bad influence and distracting you from school work is my job." Takaki said, waving away the gratitude. "Speaking of which, are you going to go back and study now?"

  Chinen sighed. He really should, but...

  "Maybe. Maybe not."

  "Alright. You make up your mind; I'm going to go do the dishes."

  "Then I'll go study." Giving Takaki a smile, Chinen got up and went back to his bedroom. He didn't end up studying much at all, finding himself thinking back to what had just happened and smiling, staring into space for much too long. After thirty minutes had passed and he had only completed one math problem he gave up, closing his books and changing into his pajamas. Once he was completely ready for bed he slipped in, pulling his comforter over himself, wriggling until he was comfortable and closing his eyes.

  He was just about to fall asleep, dozing, when his bedroom door opened. It was Takaki, opening his closet and pulling out some clothes. He was at the door when Chinen gathered enough awareness to mumble

  "Goodnight."

  "Night."  Takaki closed the door, and Chinen drifted off.

 

  "And why not?" Chinen asked.

  "There are a million reasons why not!" Inoo exclaimed back. The older man had shown up unannounced with his arms full of books, under the pretext of studying together before Chinen headed off to dance rehearsal. However, conversation had steered from math and biology--or in Inoo's case, architecture--to Daiki. More specifically, why Inoo couldn't just buck up and confess already.

  "Like what?"

  "What if it freaks him out? What if he never wants to talk to me again? What if he doesn't like me back and we're awkward around each other for the rest of our lives? What if--"

  "Stop." Chinen held his hand up. That had been a terrible question to ask--Inoo had obviously put a great deal of thought in to why or why not to confess to Daiki. Inoo sighed.

  "First of all, it won't freak him out. He's friends with Hikaru and Yabu. Daiki isn't a very awkward person, and there is absolutely no way he would never want to see you again, even if he didn't like you back. Which he completely does!" Chinen tacked on quickly, once he noticed the look on Inoo's face. "He really does like you. I can tell."

  "He says that he doesn't."

  "You say that you don't." Chinen pointed out. "It could be the same thing."

  "But Chinen, what if--"

  "If you say 'what if' one more time, I'm slapping you in the face with trigonometric equations." Chinen cut him off again. "Would you rather pine over him for an undetermined amount of time, or just get it off your chest?"

  "Pine over him." Inoo whined in defeat, going from sitting to lying on his back. "I've been doing it for months now. I'm an expert."

  "But what if he likes you back? Then you could kiss him, you know. Whenever you want."

  That incentive was strong enough to make Inoo pull himself into an upright position. Then he flopped back down again.

  "I don't care too much about that." He confessed. "I mean, I do, of course I do, but I want everything else too. Like... I want to be the first thing he sees in the morning, I want to hold his hand everywhere, I want to get into fights with him and kiss his cheeks and tell him how wonderful he is without laughing it off. I want to protect him from the dumb things he's afraid of, like thunderstorms and weird bugs, go on silly dates, and kiss him like he's one of the most important people in my life, because he is, and I..." He trailed off and sat up again, realization dawning on his face. "I have to tell him."

  "Yeah." Chinen agreed, smiling. "You do."

  "I'm going to do it." Inoo fumbled for his cell phone. "Right now. I have to--"

  "You can't do it over the phone!" Chinen exclaimed. Sure, he wanted Inoo to tell Daiki, but their recital was in  _two_  days. "There's a recital soon. You don't want to distract him."

  "I'm losing my nerve." Inoo protested. After a moment of consideration, he sighed and put his phone down. "I don't know what I'd say to him. Chinen, what should I say? I've liked him for so long that I feel like 'I like you' is too plain, 'I love you' is too much, 'you're the sun and the stars' or something similar is so cheesy I want to puke..."

  "Tell him what you just said." Chinen shrugged. "That definitely sounded good enough to me."

  Inoo fell into thought, pressing the end of his pen into his cheek. After a few moments, he spoke up again.

  "What about you, Chinen? Are you going to tell him?"

  "Who?" Chinen asked. "Tell who what?"

  "Takaki. You know, that you like him."

  "Oh." Chinen turned back to his books. "Nope."

  "Why not?" Inoo whined, drawing out his words and placing his pen down with more force that Chinen expected. “You two would be adorable together."

  "...what?" That response was something Chinen hadn't expected.

  "Think about it." Inoo clasped his hands together under his chin, starry-eyed. "The type of story this is, the height difference you two have--you would just fit under his arm so cutely and he's already began the process of wrapping himself around your finger. You're already married and live together, is there anything more--"

  "Stop being weird." Chinen cut him off. "You've thought about this too much. I'm not going to tell him, at least not any time soon. I already know that he doesn't like me at all, so there's no point in getting myself shot down. And the reason I can't tell him is because we live together; we're just beginning to really get to know each other, I don't want to make him feel uncomfortable."

  Inoo looked extremely put out by the solid logic in Chinen's declaration, making the younger man frown.

  "I won't wait almost a year to tell him, like you have, if that makes you feel any better."

  "Hey, at least I'm doing it now." Inoo defended. He set his books down, pulling out a fresh piece of paper and hunching over it with a newfound energy.

  "Are you excited about it?" Chinen asked.

  "I'm scared out of my mind." Inoo confessed. "I'm going to write down what I'll try to tell him."

  Chinen nodded, turning back to his books, leaving Inoo in thought.


	5. Chapter 5

   Chinen wiped the sweat from his forehead, groaning audibly as he picked his bag up off of the floor. Yamada clapped his hand on Chinen's shoulder in a way that was supposed to be comforting, and along with Daiki, they left the dance studio together. That rehearsal had been much too long, hot, and stuffy, leaving Chinen feeling rather gross and sweaty. The cool night air felt nice on his face, and as he stepped outside he closed his eyes for a moment, setting down his duffle bag and enjoying the breeze. Yamada did the same, relaxing before someone said "Yamada!"

   The shout made Chinen open his eyes, and he saw Yamada's face break into a huge smile. Looking over, Chinen saw Yuto down the street, waving with his entire arm as he approached.

   "Ooh." Daiki nudged Yamada's shoulder. "Is he picking you up?"

   Yamada didn't move his eyes from the object of his affections, dipping his head into a tiny nod. "We're going to get ice cream, and hang out a bit."

   Chinen couldn't help but smile. "Is he your boyfriend yet?" he asked.

   "Not yet..." Yamada mumbled. "But we have a date next Wednesday, so..."

   "What are you two going to do?" Daiki asked, genuinely curious. However, Yuto had already reached them, smiling brightly. He greeted them all, then turned to Yamada and asked

   "You ready to go?"

   Yamada bent to pick up his bag but Yuto beat him to it, slinging it over his shoulder. They both said their goodbyes, Yamada turning and waving as he walked off.

   "They are adorable." Daiki declared. Chinen nodded. It was kind of amazing, really, how they had found each other and hit it off so well.

   "It's interesting to see Yamada like someone. I wasn't sure he had the capacity." For as long as Chinen had known Yamada, his friend had never once shown signs of having a crush on anybody. He was so dedicated--which was great, Chinen guessed, to be so passionate about something--that he didn't really acknowledge advances from males or females. Chinen hadn't been able to tell if it was due to obliviousness, or complete disinterest.

   "The capacity? Sure he does, he just doesn't know what to do with himself when he gets hit on, so he doesn't really do anything. I guess Yuto is dorky enough to be approachable."

   That made Chinen grin. Yuto was a dork, and Yamada was secretly enough of a dork as well for them to be an excellent match.

   Conversation stilled and they parted ways, Takaki greeting Chinen as he walked in. The older male was sitting on the couch, watching something, and though Chinen was tired he decided to take a seat next to Takaki and watch TV with him. It was a strange, overly dramatic reality show, the result of aimless channel flipping, and it wasn't entertaining enough to keep Chinen's exhaustion at bay. He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew the clock had jumped ahead nearly an hour and a half, and Takaki was nudging Chinen's head off of his shoulder.

   "You need to go to bed." Takaki mumbled, speaking more to himself. "C'mon."

   Chinen hoisted himself into a sitting position, leaning on the older male, Takaki using a hand on his shoulder to steer him into his bedroom.

   Chinen clambered between his bed sheets, going back to sleep the only thought on his mind. A hand ruffled his hair, Takaki murmuring bidding him goodnight in a rather endearing way. It made Chinen smile, just a little, but then his head hit the pillow and Chinen drifted back off.

 

 

   "I'm heading out." Chinen declared, slinging his duffle bag over his shoulder. Takaki looked up from his phone.

   "Okay."

   "Are you going to come to the recital?" Chinen had been dropping subtle hints all week about the location and time of the dance recital, and that he wanted Takaki to come. Now was his last chance to ask. He smiled when Takaki nodded.

   "Yup. The whole band is going to be there, I think."

   Oh. Chinen swallowed, having been completely unaware of that piece of information. Now that he thought about it though, it made sense--not only were they his friends, they were Daiki's friends as well.

   As soon as Chinen entered the studio, Yamada let out a groan, pained expression on his face, wrapping his arms around Chinen and leaning on him heavily.

   "Yamada? Are you okay?"

   "No." Yamada whined into his shoulder. "Yuto is coming to watch me."

   Chinen pulled back to glare a little. "I thought you were hurt or something, idiot."

   "Can you believe this?"

   "Of course I can. He wouldn't miss it for the world."

   The teasing jab was met with another groan, Yamada putting his face in his hands. Daiki appeared a few minutes later, Chinen leaving the task of comforting their friend to him and setting his bag down, pulling out his phone.

_To: Ryu-chan_

_You're coming, right?_

   The reply took less than a minute.

_From: Ryu-chan_

_Of course! I'm bringing someone._

   Before Chinen could ask who, their instructor clapped her hands, and it was time to get serious. They took a lot of the rehearsal warming up on their own, stretching and breathing and doing whatever they needed to do. Yamada was no longer whiny, gaze now sharp and focused. Daiki's usually playful face was serious, Chinen pulling himself in and preparing for his performance.

   The recital ran smoothly, the performers going on stage slightly tensed and nervous, but coming back with elated smiles on their faces. Chinen had some time between the initial warm up and his performance, so he sat backstage, wishing people good luck and watching behind the curtain.

   Before he knew it, it was his turn to get under the spotlight alone, cracking his toes against the wooden floor of the stage before slowly walking into the middle. He poised his body, postured perfectly to each fingertip, taking a breath. Then the music began, and so did he.

   It was the moments when he was performing, when the excitement of being on the stage and the ease that his preparation gave him coursed through his entire body, did Chinen really remember why he loved to dance. Sure, dancing was a fun pastime, and it gave him something besides schoolwork to do, but he really did enjoy it quite immensely, breaking into a smile and bowing once his performance was over.

   Yamada and Daiki went on last, Chinen smiling at them as they made their way out on to the stage. They were sharp and precise and in sync with both the beat and each other, talent radiating from both of them, and it was really incredible to watch. Chinen burst into cheers as they finished, wrapping one arm around each of them as they came behind the curtain.

   Yamada and Daiki were smiling an extraordinary amount, bubbling with post performance energy and chattering as they all packed up their things. Once it was all cleaned up, Chinen hopped on Daiki's back, the older man not even asking questions as they went out to find their friends.

   It was easy to spot Yuto's lanky figure in the crowd, but before they could get close, someone else stopped them.

   "Yuri!"

   All three of them turned at the sound of Chinen's name, Chinen himself pleasantly surprised by the sight of his parents waving and hurrying over, his mother holding a bouquet of flowers. Chinen hopped off Daiki's back, going over to hug them. He hadn't seen his parents since the wedding, and suddenly realized how much he missed them.

   "You came!" Their appearance was completely unexpected.

   "Of course. Though we barely remembered that it was today! You haven't even called since the wedding, is everything alright?"

   A wave of guilt washed over Chinen at that. Everything had been so different and new in his own personal world that he'd forgotten to keep his family updated. He gave them both a bright smile, feeling as though he needed to be overly happy to make up for the lack of contact.

   "Everything is great!"

   "Are you sure?"

   "Of course!"

   Thankfully, that did seem to ease his mother's concerned expression.

   "How's your..." Chinen's father gestured awkwardly. "How is the..."

   Chinen decided to help him out. "Takaki is fine. We're fine. We're friends now."

   That was also taken as good news, his mother saying that they should go. They each hugged him, telling him to call them and that they loved him. They left, and, with the bouquet of flowers in hand, Chinen made his way over to his friends. They were huddled between two rows of seats, all smiling and talking excitedly.

   "Chinen!" Yabu exclaimed when he approached. He waved, and they all began clapping. Chinen gave an exaggerated bow, accepting the quick compliments given to him. Takaki tapped him on the shoulder, catching his attention.

   "I don't really like ballet-type things, I guess." Takaki confessed. "But," he added quickly, noticing the look on Chinen's face, "you were really incredible."

   Chinen had expected a "nice job" or "that was good" from his husband, not something as extravagant as "incredible". It made him a bit flustered, and Takaki must have noticed because he grinned a bit, raising an eyebrow.

   "Thank you. And shut up." Chinen grumbled. He couldn't help but smile though, and Takaki smiled back.

   "Hey, Daiki?" Inoo spoke up, cutting off the group's conversation, sounding abnormally nervous. Daiki turned to him immediately, looking concerned.

   "What is it? You okay?" He asked, extending a hand to Inoo's arm.

   "Can we... Go talk somewhere?" Inoo asked. Chinen's eyes went wide as he watched them leave, and he grabbed Takaki's shirtsleeve. Was Inoo confessing right now?

   "Oh my god." He murmured. Takaki glanced at him, asking just as quietly,

   "What?"

   Chinen beckoned for Takaki to lean down, whispering "I think Inoo is confessing. He was talking about doing it..."

   "Seriously?" The exclamation was loud, Takaki's mouth dropping open, watching as Inoo and Daiki exited the doors of the performance hall.

   "What was that about?" Hikaru asked.

   "We," Takaki said, gesturing to Chinen, "have reason to believe that Inoo is confessing to Daiki. Right now."

   "Now?" Hikaru asked. Chinen and Takaki nodded together.

   "We have to follow them!" Yuto declared what they were all thinking, looping his arm around Yamada's, and without another second of hesitation they all snuck after the two, going outside. They split up to hide and watch, Chinen crouching behind a bush. Takaki sat next to him, peeking through the leaves.

   "What's up?" Daiki asked again. They were just within earshot, Chinen watching as Inoo puffed up his cheeks, letting out a breath.

   "I'm...well, I wanted to tell you something."

   "Is it something bad? Because you're sort of acting like someone died."

   "Not quite." Inoo said, laughing a bit.

   "This is finally happening." Takaki breathed, sounding slightly incredulous. "Never, in my twenty-four years of existence, could I have imagined Inoo getting up enough courage to--"

   "It hasn't happened yet." Chinen responded, cutting him off. "Hush."

   "I wrote down what I was going to tell you, but now you're right in front of me, and..." Inoo scratched his head, embarrassed. "I forgot it."

   "Did you have a message for me or something? Could we find the paper you wrote on?"

   Chinen groaned inwardly.

   "This isn't going well." Takaki muttered. "Should we do something?"

   "It's nothing like that, it's just... Ah, damn it. I'll just say it."  
      Daiki stood there, holding the flowers that Chinen guessed were from Inoo, looking understandably confused and expectant.

   "Ever since I met you, really, I've known that I thought you were cute, and I wanted to hug you. That turned into wanting to kiss you, and now I want to hold your hand and go on dates with you, and fight with you, and everything. With you. I really, really like you Daiki."

   Inoo said his entire confession incredibly fast, gesturing with his hands a bit, and some of it Chinen had been barely able to catch. Takaki was holding his breath, and Daiki hadn't moved. Finally, Inoo asked,

   "Could you say something?"

   "R-right." Daiki readjusted his grip on the flowers, the plastic wrap around the stem crinkling. "I just..." He laughed a bit. "I didn't know."

   "Really?" Inoo laughed too, a bit incredulous. "I thought I was painfully obvious."

   "Was all that the stuff you'd written down?"

   "More or less."

   They fell silent again, for longer, both of them looking at the ground. Chinen was considering an intervention when Daiki glanced up at his friend.

   "Inoo, would you like to go on a date with me?"

   That wasn't expected at all, Inoo's head shooting up, giving him a surprised look.

   "I... What?"

   "You didn't seem like you were going to ask, so I figured I would do it." Daiki said. Inoo beamed, pulling Daiki into a hug. Daiki grinned, barely having time to wrap his arms around Inoo before the older man pulled back a bit, saying in a deadly serious voice,

   "Absolutely no roller coasters on this date."

   Daiki collapsed into laughter, pulling Inoo back into the hug, a triumphant shout sounding from a few feet behind Chinen's bush.

   It was Yuto, he, Yamada, Hikaru, and Yabu spilling out from around the corner. Chinen decided it would be fine to blow his cover as well, pulling Takaki up with him.

   "You guys...!" Daiki exclaimed, the two flushing a bit pink and letting go of each other. Inoo put his face in his hands.

   "Why... How long have you been...?"

   "We've been waiting for months for this to happen, do you think we'd miss it?" Yabu asked.

   "Months?" Daiki asked. He turned to Inoo. "How many months?"

   "I'm not answering that." Inoo deadpanned, causing everyone to laugh. Chinen glanced around at his friends, suddenly realizing that someone he had expected wasn't there.

   "Hey," Chinen put his hand on Yamada's arm. "Have you seen Ryutaro?"

   "Oh." Yamada glanced around the same way Chinen had, eyebrows furrowing. "Now that you mention it, no I haven't."

   Chinen frowned. "He said he would come. He said he was bringing someone, actually." Rather put out, Chinen pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He typed in Ryutaro's number, about to hit 'call' when his phone began ringing in his hand.

    _Incoming call from Ryu-chan_

   Confused, Chinen answered.

   "Where are you? The recital is already over." Chinen let his voice get pouty, letting some of his disappointment show through his voice. Takaki noticed, glancing over at him.

   "I know, and I'm really sorry. I couldn't come; something happened."

   "What happened that was more important than coming to see me?" Plenty of things were more important, sure, but Chinen felt that a little guilt trip was necessary.  "We haven't seen each other in--"

   "Months, I know. It's..." He almost sounded embarrassed as he said "I'm in the hospital."

   The words were shocking, Chinen feeling his heart rise in his throat.

   "I'm okay," Ryutaro quickly said into the silence. "No broken bones or communicable diseases or anything." Ryutaro did sound okay, if not for a little raspy, so Chinen decided to ask,

   "What happened?"

   "My house sort of caught on fire." He answered offhandedly. "I can tell you the story later, I just wanted to apologize."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm cringing so hard at this fic I'm sorry

    "Your house caught on fire? Ryutaro..." Chinen wasn't sure how to react to this news. "Could I stop by and visit you at least?" He really wanted to see his friend, dance recital or not.

    "Sure. That would be great, actually. I need to talk to you."

    "Awesome. I'll be there soon." Hanging up, Chinen barely had time to slip his phone into his pocket before Takaki asked,

    "What was that? Is everything okay?"

"I think so." Honestly, Chinen wasn't exactly sure. Ryutaro didn't seem in any sort of danger though, so he just shrugged. Then he raised his voice, addressing the group.

    "Could someone take me to the hospital?"

    "Why? Are you okay?" Hikaru asked. His serious tone was unexpected, and Chinen realized that asking a question like that out of the blue was not the best idea.

    "Yes, yes, I'm fine, but my friend is there and I want to go visit him." Chinen amended.

    "Ryu?" Yamada asked, worry already etched on to his face. Chinen nodded.

    "He's okay. There was a fire in his house."

    The longer Chinen spoke, the worse what he was saying sounded. Now all of his friends were concerned.

    "He really is okay, I just haven't seen him in a while and I was going to see him today anyway, so..." Clapping his hands together awkwardly, Chinen gave them all an apologetic look. "Don't worry."

    "I'll take you, if you're alright with riding the motorcycle." Takaki offered. Chinen really wasn't alright with riding the motorcycle, but he did want to get there quickly, and the opportunity for an excuse to wrap his arms around Takaki's torso wasn't something he could easily pass up.

    "Sure."

    After goodbyes, Takaki led the way through the parking lot. There the bike was, in all of its black and shiny, intimidating glory. Takaki slung his leg over it, handing his helmet to Chinen.

    "Climb on."

    Trying not to let his reluctance show, Chinen put on the helmet and did just that. Takaki reached back, arranging Chinen's arms around his midsection. He was nice and warm and rather comfortable. Chinen made a mental note to snuggle up to Takaki at the next opportunity he had.

    "Whatever you do, don't let go."

    There was no danger of that happening, and Chinen told Takaki so, the man smiling at him before making the vehicle roar to life. The sound alone made Chinen grip Takaki tighter, and as soon as they were moving all of the reasons that Chinen had given to himself to agree with this insane idea had completely dissipated.

    There was a reason he hadn't even tried learning how to drive yet--cars scared him too much. So to be on the back of a motorcycle, zipping through traffic... Chinen just put his head on Takaki's back and closed his eyes.

    By the time Takaki came to a stop, Chinen had wound his arms around him so tightly that his fingertips were on his elbows. Takaki cut off the engine and reached around, popping the helmet off Chinen's head.

    "We're here. You can let go now."

    Chinen wasn't sure he was capable. But as soon as he did, Takaki wheezed in a breath.

    "D'you think, next time..." He took another deep breath, rubbing his stomach "You could let me breathe while I'm driving?"

    Chinen got off the bike, crouching to his knees. "That was so scary..." He groaned. "I thought we were going to die."

    "You don't trust me?"

    "I don't even like regular bicycles. I'm fine with walking everywhere, which is saying something considering how short my legs are." Chinen gestured to himself. "I have no idea how you feel safe going everywhere on that thing."

    "Well, if anything had happened, at least we were on the way to the hospital." Takaki said with a chuckle. Giving him a glance that conveyed he was not amused, Chinen led the way into the hospital.

    "We would like to visit Morimoto Ryutaro please." Chinen told the receptionist. After giving them a smile and asking them to please sign in, she gave them his room number and pointed down a hallway.

    "Thank you very much."

    They headed down, neither of them speaking. Takaki's movements had gotten a bit stiff.

    "What, nervous?" Chinen asked. The older man just shrugged. They reached their destination, Takaki pushing the door open.

    Ryutaro was sitting up I'm the hospital bed, beaming when he saw them. He wasn't alone however; Keito was in a chair pulled up to him, one of his hands held by Ryutaro's own.

    "...Keito?" Takaki asked, mirroring Chinen's confusion. "What're you doing here?"

  Keito got up, hastily greeting them before answering Takaki's question. "My, um... Well..."

    "His boyfriend is in the hospital, that's what." Ryutaro answered, obviously amused by how flustered the directness of the statement made Keito.

    "You're dating Keito?" Chinen was flabbergasted. That was why Keito said he'd heard of Chinen before. "Since when?"

    "Uh..." Ryutaro scratched his head, thinking. "Around the time you and Takaki got married, I think."

    "And you didn't tell me?" Chinen all but screeched, hurrying over to whack him.

    "I told Yamada, but you seemed like you had more serious stuff going on than this! Stop hitting me!"

    Chinen complied, pulling his friend into a hug instead. Ryutaro laughed at the change of emotion, hugging back tightly.

    "I was going to tell you today, I promise, but then..."

    "Yeah, what happened exactly?" Chinen hopped on to the bed, Keito taking his seat, Takaki sitting in a chair against the wall. "The house caught on fire?"

    "Well," Ryutaro sat up a little straighter. "Shintaro had Juri over--"

    "Oh, are they dating yet?" Last Chinen heard of that story, Tanaka Juri was head over heels and Shintaro had just found out about it.

    "Yup." Ryutaro grinned a bit.

    "And how scared of you is he?"

    "Not as scared as I would like, but scared enough." That made Chinen laugh, and Ryutaro continued his story.

    "They were in the kitchen, making... Hell, I don't even know what they were making, but it required both the stove and the microwave..."

    Chinen already dreaded where this story was going.

    "Shintaro was heating up something, but he used a metal bowl because... Because I don't know, I guess he's an idiot, and the microwave exploded. Metal parts literally went everywhere, and some of them were on fire, which ended up knocking over a bottle of oil and spilling it all over the floor..."

    Chinen was incredulous. "How does someone even mess up cooking that badly?"

    Ryutaro shrugged. "I shepherded them out first and Juri called the fire department. Then I went in and got my parents from upstairs--the fire had spread out of the kitchen at that point, and with the fire alarm going off I figured Nastune would get the hint and get out of the house, but my Dad has set the alarm off so many times with his cooking that she figured it was a false alarm, so after a minute or two I went in to get her too."

    It was admirable, really, how much Ryutaro played the hero for his family. "Is everyone alright?" Chinen asked.

    "Yeah. No burns or anything. I'm just in here because I was exposed to the smoke the longest so they're checking my lungs for... Something. I don't know. The kitchen is a black shell though, so we have to stay somewhere else while it gets renovated."

    "Wow, that sucks." The whole situation was quite bizarre, and having to live somewhere else in the middle of the school year was going to be difficult.

    "Yeah. The worst part is, since Juri lives next door and he and Shintaro are such close friends," Ryutaro made exaggerated quotation marks in the air with his fingers "he's staying over there. In Juri's room." Ryutaro sighed. "Since he didn't want to tell Mom and Dad yet, I can't protest without outing him."

    "Just threaten to remove his brain with a turkey baster again, it'll be fine." Chinen responded, patting Ryutaro's arm sympathetically.

    "I guess. My parents and Natsue are staying with my aunt, and I think I have to stay with them because they're definitely not letting me go to Keito's." Ryutaro's face suggested that his aunt's place was a last resort even to a park bench, and for a moment he felt bad for his friend before realizing,

    "Hey, you could stay at my house!"

    "He can?" Takaki asked.

    "I can?" Ryutaro echoed.

    "Sure!" Chinen exclaimed.

    "But there's only one room, and I know the couch isn't free." Ryutaro protested, sending a glance Takaki's way. Chinen waved a hand.

    "I have a big bed, we'll figure something out. If that's okay with you." Chinen turned quickly to Keito. He didn't want to seem any sort of threatening, but Keito just nodded.

    "If Ryutaro wants to, it's fine with me."

    Chinen turned to Ryutaro. "So?"

    "I don't want to intrude..."

    "I'm not leaving you with your aunt that only eats old fish. C'mon."

    Ryutaro smiled at him. "Fine. Thanks Chii."

    Chinen beamed, excited that he could both be helpful and spend more time with his friend. Keito pulled a phone from his pocket and handed it to Ryutaro, who smiled slightly and said a quiet thanks. Chinen was still a bit baffled. How did these two end up together?

    He didn't want to ask, in fear of embarrassing them, walking over to where Takaki was sitting as Ryutaro dialed his mother's phone number.

    "This is kind of weird." He whispered.

    Takaki nodded. "Yuto mentioned Keito's boyfriend a few times that week Keito stepped in for Yabu, and he would get all blushy, but I never would have guessed that it was your terrifying friend."

    "My what?" Chinen kept his surprised tone as hushed as possible. When Takaki refused to repeat what he had said, he giggled. "Are scared of Ryu?"

    "Can he really suck someone's brain out with a turkey baster?" Takaki asked back, voice small. Chinen suppressed his laughter rather unsuccessfully, holding his hand over his mouth. Before he could respond, however, Ryutaro called his name.

    "Hey, Chinen?"

    "Yes?" Chinen asked, turning back to him.

    "My mom said it was a good idea. She's going to swing by and pick me up, then head down to your house."

    Chinen nodded. That sounded good. Then, Takaki stood, hooking Chinen's index finger with his own and saying,

    "We should go, clean up or something."

    Chinen looked from his husband's hand to his face, eyebrows raised.

    "What?" Takaki asked.

    "Nothing." The physical contact was weird, but Chinen wasn't at all complaining, just confused. He pulled himself away to wave goodbye to both Keito and Ryutaro, and they exited the hospital.

    It had been falling dark on the way there, and now it was pretty black outside, making the prospect of getting on the back of motorcycle even more terrifying. But he couldn't really go home any other way, sighing in resignation as he took the helmet and hopped on the back.

    "Remember, I need to be able to breathe." Takaki chastised. "At least try not to squeeze."

    "No promises." Chinen said. And it was a good thing too, because if he had made one, he wouldn't have kept it.

 

    Tidying up didn't take too long, and once Ryutaro showed up Takaki disappeared, saying something about setting his own bed up. He would be sleeping in Chinen's room, on a blow up mattress on the floor, while Ryutaro slept on the couch. Chinen had figured that would be better for everyone, Keito included, than to have Ryutaro sharing his bed.

    "The couch is pretty comfortable." Chinen admitted, handing Ryutaro some blankets. "Takaki has been sleeping on it for as long as we've been here, and he's never complained."

    "Did you kick him out of the bedroom, or what?" Ryutaro asked, smile on his face. Chinen shook his head.

    "No; we had no idea what the house was like until we got here after the wedding, and once we found out there was only one bed and bedroom, Takaki said he would just sleep on the couch and stormed out. I didn't even have time to offer to sleep somewhere else. I would have even been alright with sharing, but--"

    "You would be fine with sharing a bed with someone you didn't know?" Ryutaro asked, surprised.

    "I was going to have to get to know him anyway, so why not?"

    Ryutaro's eyebrows were still raised, so Chinen sighed.

    "And yes, I liked him, okay?"

    Ryutaro laughed. "Do you still like him? Or did that go away?"

    Chinen thought for a moment. "I do, but it's sort of different now that I know him, you know? He used to be this unreachable pretty boy, but actually... He's kind of stupid. But he does little nice things for me, and is really good at cheering me up. I've grown to like him a lot."

    That made Ryutaro chuckle, Chinen exclaiming,

    "He's afraid of you!"

    "Good." Ryutaro responded.

    "He thinks you're going to suck his brain out."

    "I will, if I have to."

    Chinen threw his friend a look. "Come on, Ryu."

    "What?" Ryutaro asked back. "You're a brother to me, Chinen. It's the same as with Shin and Juri, except I trust Juri. Sort of."

    Chinen just shook his head. It was nice that Ryutaro cared for him, even though he was pretty sure he had it all under control. Ryutaro stretched out on the couch, throwing a blanket over his legs. He was tired, understandably exhausted by the events of the day, so Chinen held back all the questions about Keito that he wanted to ask and bid him goodnight.

    He turned lights off as he made his way to his bedroom, making it pitch black as he entered his room. He didn't know where Takaki was laying down, so he just decided to walk in and hope for the best. There was a small groan in response to one of his footfalls and he jumped up.

    "Did I step on you?" Chinen asked, making a wide arc in a different direction to get to his bed.

    "Yeah, kinda."

    Chinen turned on a lamp, giving Takaki his best apologetic expression. "I'm so, so sorry. I didn't know where you put your bed, so..."

    Takaki shrugged off his explanation, rubbing his fingers with his other hand.

    "It's okay. I don't really need these that much anyway."

    Glad that Takaki wasn't mad or very seriously hurt, Chinen got in bed.

    "Is it alright? Ryu staying here and you sleeping on the floor? I didn't really ask you." He had been so caught up in trying his hardest to help his friend out that he'd never asked Takaki how he felt about the whole ordeal.

    Takaki was quiet for a few moments.

    "I'm fine with sleeping on the floor." He said. "And as long as we don't actually own a turkey baster, I think I'm fine with Ryutaro, too."

    Chinen looked down at Takaki with a laugh. Takaki was already looking up at him, lying on his side, curled up and under a blanket, looking rather adorable in Chinen's opinion.

    "Why're you afraid of him?" Chinen had to ask. He couldn't think of anything Ryutaro could have done already to make Takaki scared of him at all.

    "Because he's tall, sort of broad shouldered, and doesn't like me." Takaki answered without skipping a beat.

    "And how do you know that?" He knew that Ryutaro wasn't Takaki's biggest fan, but how did Takaki know?

    "Besides the glare he gave me earlier?" Ryutaro had glared at him? Chinen sighed, and Takaki continued.

    "Think about it. He's your best friend, and I, using Hikaru's words, am an asshole. Wouldn't that make him want to hit me, or something?"

    Oh. Chinen thought about how he would complain, at the beginning of the marriage, about how Takaki was never home, and would ignore him. Takaki's reasoning did make sense.

    But that was a while ago. Chinen turned the lamp off, dousing the room in darkness, and he squirmed until he found a comfortable position, closing his eyes.

    "I don't think you're an asshole. I like you. I like you fine."

    "Well, thanks." Takaki responded. Chinen could hear a smile in the words, making him smile back.

    "Mmhm."

    Takaki didn't say anything else, Chinen letting his mind wander over the events of the day. The recital had gone well, Inoo confessed to Daiki, and Ryutaro was dating Keito. Overall, a rather excellent turn of events. Somewhere throughout his musings, dreams mixed with reality, and he was asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of Ryutaro in this chapter! I still get emo about chiitaro every once and a while tbh

     When Chinen woke up, Takaki Yuya was staring at him.

     "Good morning." Takaki said with a bit of a smile. His voice was a bit rough with sleep, but his eyes looked quite awake, which was different. Usually Chinen woke up first.

     "It is." Chinen nodded, sitting up. He yawned and stretched. There was a guest in the living room, so he had to make breakfast. Chinen knew Takaki was going to say no to his request, but decided to ask it anyway saying,

     "Do you want to make breakfast with me?"

     "Sure." Takaki said after a few moments. Oh. That was exciting, making Chinen smile and hop out of bed.

     "I don't know how to cook anything." Takaki spoke up as they went into the kitchen together.

     "Neither did I, until we moved in here." Chinen said with a shrug. "I just drew on things I'd seen my mother do and went with it."

     Opening the refrigerator, Chinen pulled out some eggs first, trying to come up with what would be good to have for breakfast. Eggs, definitely. Probably some pancakes as well. Perhaps Ryutaro had a special request.

     He walked into the living room, leaving Takaki in the kitchen. It was about time for Ryutaro to wake up.

     When calling his friends' name and shaking his shoulder had no effect, Chinen jumped on Ryutaro's back, making him mumble out,

     "Ugh, Chii, what is it?"

     "What would you like for breakfast?" Chinen asked, sounding a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as possible.

     "More sleep." Came the responding grumble.

     Pancakes and eggs it was, then.

     "C'mon, it's already ten-thirty." Chinen whined, pushing Ryutaro's shoulders. "How would you like your eggs?"

     "...scrambled."

     Glad he finally got a real answer, Chinen headed back to the kitchen.

     "Crack some of those into a bowl and mix them. I'll make some pancakes, or something." Hopefully, they had all the ingredients for pancakes, or he would have to start improvising. Takaki pointed to the egg carton.

     "How many is some?" he asked. Chinen shrugged, wanting to see what Takaki would decide. Wanting to see just how clueless Takaki was in the kitchen.

     The answer was pretty clear when Chinen saw him looking back and forth between a fork and a spoon. It would be pretty difficult to beat eggs with a spoon, and as funny as that would be to watch,  Chinen decided to help him out.

     "You should use a fork."

     "Thanks."

     Chinen laughed a bit, looking back at the box of pancake mix. They had everything they needed, it seemed.

     "Now what?" Takaki asked. Chinen looked over. The eggs had turned into one yellow, liquidated mess.

     "Now we scramble them."

     Getting the right pan out of the cabinet was a bit difficult, all the pots and pans in the small space hitting against each other. Something about that struck Takaki as funny, smiling as he asked,

     "Does taking out a pan always make that much noise?"

     "Yup." Chinen turned on the correct stove burner, dropping butter in the pan so it could melt. Takaki pointed to it.

     "I thought we were making eggs?" He asked slowly.

     At first, Chinen wasn't sure if Takaki was seriously asking the question, but the honest confusion stayed on his husband's face, and Chinen couldn't find it in himself to make fun of him.

     "It keeps the eggs from sticking to the pan."

     Takaki's mouth opened into a small 'o' of understanding, nodding. That made Chinen laugh.

     "Do you want to scramble them?" He asked.

     "I can try." Takaki answered. "I just made a fool of myself though, I'm not sure I want to attempt anything else potentially embarrassing."

     Chinen waved the excuse off. "I'll help you if you need it. It's easy."

     Chinen continued to get the pancake batter ready, and before long there was a plate of scrambled eggs on the counter.

     "That was easy." Takaki remarked. Chinen nodded in satisfaction, pulling out another, larger pan.

     "Go ask Ryutaro what he wants to drink, would you?" He asked Takaki. Takaki looked like Chinen had just asked him to steal riches from Smaug himself.

     "Do I have to?" He asked. Chinen raised an eyebrow.

     "You're asking a question, not waking a sleeping dragon. Come on."

     Chinen turned back to the stove as Takaki left the room, pouring out a total of three pancakes on to a pan. He watched them cook, grabbing a spatula from a drawer. Last time Chinen had tried to flip pancakes on his own, at least half of them had ended up in places other than back in the pan. Maybe Takaki could do it instead.

     Chinen extended the spatula to Takaki as soon as the older man reentered the kitchen.

     "I'm no good at flipping pancakes, could you do it?"

     Takaki gave him a doubtful look.  "I've never done this before."

     "Just get it on the spatula and turn it over." Chinen used hand motions as he spoke. "It'll be fine."

     As Takaki turned his attention to the half-baked pancakes in front of him, Chinen opened another drawer, looking through it, trying to find a serving spoon for the eggs. Instead, he came across something rather amusing.

     "Hey, we do own a turkey baster."

     "What?" The comment surprised Takaki more than Chinen had expected, seeing something flying across the room as he turned. When he saw Ryutaro, who had just walked in, with a face covered in pancake batter, he couldn't control his laughter. Takaki had hit Ryutaro in the face with a pancake, batter-side first.

     "I think it's a little undercooked." Ryutaro said, tasting the batter around his mouth. Chinen, unsuccessfully holding back more giggles, took the spatula from a stunned Takaki's hands.

     "On second thought, I'll flip these."

     "Good idea."

     Aside from that, breakfast was finished and served without much difficulty.

     "You and I are going out today, and buying you a few outfits." Chinen declared to Ryutaro, halfway through their meal.

     "Why?" Ryutaro asked back, still sleepy and unamused.

     "Because you only have three pairs of clothes, and you're not allowed back inside your house until the kitchen is finished. I'm not going to let you roam around in the same three shirts for months in a row."

     "It won't take that long to..." Seeing that he wasn't going to win this one, Ryutaro just sighed.  "Could Keito come too?"

     "Maybe." Chinen smiled. "We'll have to talk about him first."

     "Of course we will."

     "Don't sound so exasperated." Chinen chided. "It'll be fun."

     Ryutaro didn't look like he agreed, the expression on his face not changing until they were halfway through the shirts isle of a clothing store and Chinen decided to ask

     "So, how did you and Keito meet?"

     Ryutaro smiled first, then looked down at his feet, laughing a little. "It's a really stupid story."

     "Tell me."

     It didn't take much coaxing.

     "It was my birthday, and my family decided to get dressed up and go to some weird, fancy, expensive Italian restaurant. I was just sitting there, eating, enjoying my ravioli and stuff, when some idiot walking by spilled their entire plate of penne all'arrabbiata on the back of my neck, down my white dress shirt, and into my lap."

     Chinen gasped, already able to see where this was going. "Don't tell me... Was it...?"

     "It was Keito." Ryutaro confirmed. "There had been something wrong with what he had ordered, so instead of calling over a waiter like a normal person, he was going to go to the kitchen to ask about it and had tripped over a chair leg or something. He was shocked, and doing more apologizing than breathing--I was worried that he was going to hyperventilate, or cry, or something--so even though I was pretty mad about it I told him that if he went to the bathroom and helped me clean most of it off of myself, I would forgive him."

     "How nice." Chinen said sarcastically.

     "Hey, it was my birthday." Ryutaro defended.

     "And?" Chinen prompted. "What happened after that?"

     "He wouldn't stop saying he was sorry, he offered to switch pants with me, all sorts of way-too-kind stuff. I had calmed down about the whole situation; it was just spaghetti, after all, and I was a bit caught up in how handsome he was, especially after he unbuttoned my shirt for me." Ryutaro coughed. "So it was a bit of a shock when he asked for my phone number."

     "He did?" Chinen raised his eyebrows. That was a surprise. Keito didn't seem like such a straight forward, initiative-taking person.

     "Yeah. So he could get directions to my house to return my clothes after he dry cleaned them."

     "Oh." That was a bit less exciting.

     "That was my reaction too." Ryutaro said with a bit of a nod, agreeing with Chinen's sentiment. "But we exchanged numbers, and one day I was really bored, so I started texting him. Everything started rolling from there. His contact was changed in my phone from "Clumsy Spaghetti Idiot" to Keito after we started hanging out. At first it was me and him and his friend Yuto, but later--"

     "Wait, you know Yuto too?" First Yamada, now Ryutaro as well?

     "Of course I know my boyfriend's best friend. He's a nice guy." Ryutaro said with a shrug.

     "Yeah, he's the drummer in Takaki's band... Wait!" Chinen whirled on Ryutaro. "How come Keito didn't know your best friend, then?"

     "Because I can function in normal social situations without you." Ryutaro said. "Keito is a bit... Awkward, at times."

     "You still could have introduced me." Chinen grumbled.

     "I'm never going to live this one down, am I?" Ryutaro asked, and Chinen shook his head in response.

     "So?" Chinen asked. "Who asked who out?"

     "Well... Me, I guess? We were hanging out at his house one day, in his room, and he played a piece on his guitar for me and sang a little... He has such a nice, soft voice. I had to kiss him after that." Ryutaro shrugged. "Then I asked him out. Apparently, he was planning on inviting me on a date once the song was finished anyway, so the timing was pretty good."

     That was really quite adorable, Chinen decided.

     "And you two have been fine since then? He's been treating you well and everything?"

     "He could probably stand to treat me a little worse, actually." Ryutaro smiled at his feet again. "He's kind of incredible."

     That made Chinen grin. "Good. Now," he gestured around to all the shirts surrounding them. "Pick out something."

 

 

     Though Ryutaro's clothing selection only doubled, Chinen was content enough with the three new outfits to consent to Ryutaro's whining and just go home. Takaki was gone, which was a bit of a disappointment, Ryutaro's eyes lighting up as he went immediately over to the video game console, not even asking for permission as he turned it on.

     "That's Takaki's..." Chinen tried, but Ryutaro just threw him a controller.

     "Would he mind?" Ryutaro asked as he looked through the selection of games. "Hey, some of these are pretty good."

     "Is that approval I hear?" Chinen teased, sitting on the couch.

     "Just surprise." Ryutaro answered, putting in some zombie shooting game and sitting on the floor. "How is he, by the way?"

     "Who?" Chinen asked back as the game began.

     "Takaki. You know, living here and stuff."

     "Oh." Chinen watched as Ryutaro shot the first zombie that approached them in the head, virtual guts splattering the screen. "I like it. We eat dinner together, and play games together. Really, thinking back to the beginning of this mess, it's a miracle we got this far."

     When Chinen thought about it, he realized it was amazing. He had gone from being left alone, avoided, sitting in the house all day, to making breakfast and riding on the back of Takaki's motorcycle. What was more amazing, though, was the fact that he had maintained a crush on Takaki the whole time. If not for that affection, Chinen wasn't sure any of this could have been achieved.

     That man was lucky he was so handsome.

     "I'm glad. Honestly, I was extremely close to just kidnapping you and making you live over at my house, instead of with some weird arranged marriage husband guy."

     It was astounding, the way Ryutaro could say something so thoughtful and be leaving mess of undead 2D carnage behind him at the same time.

     "Thanks."

     "What's so great about him, anyway?" Ryutaro asked. "He seems kind of..." The grimace Ryutaro was wearing suggested the end of his sentence held some negative thoughts. Chinen raised his eyebrows.

     "You're just saying that because we're sleeping in the same room and he hit you in the face with pancake." He said skeptically. Ryutaro's face grew stony.

     "You said he was sleeping on the couch."

     "He is! Was. You're sleeping on the couch."

     Ryutaro blinked a few times, letting out a breath. "Don't scare me like that."

     Chinen laughed. "But, Ryu, to answer your question..." He paused a moment, taking out a few zombies as he thought. "I don't know. He's just so nice to be around. I can complain to him and make mean remarks and walk around in my pajamas around him, but at the same time, he can still make me get nervous, or excited, and that's just really nice, you know?"

     Ryutaro nodded thoughtfully. "He hasn't allowed himself to become boring to you, huh? Usually you just figure people out, then decide if you want to care about them or not."

     Chinen nodded. "I know. But he keeps changing. Before I met him, I thought I had him figured out, but then he was different than I imagined, and then I got to know him, and now... Now he's randomly calling me incredible and agreeing to make pancakes with me."

     "It sounds like he likes you, Chinen."

     Chinen just shrugged. As exciting as that prospect was, he wasn't sure he wanted to let himself head down the road of "what if"s. It was an easy, sure fire way to get disappointed.

     "Oh, let me tell you before I forget," Chinen switched his weapon to machine gun, effectively wiping out an entire hoard of zombies that had swamped an out-of-ammo Ryutaro. "The band will be coming over to practice tomorrow, and might still be here when you come home. Just so you know."

     "Alright." Ryutaro shrugged. "I've met them before, all except the guitarist."

     "Seriously? When?"

     "Keito stepped in one week, remember?"

     Right; when Yabu had gotten sick.

     "Why do I even bother telling you anything?" Chinen sighed. Ryutaro laughed, hitting a zombie over the head with a baseball bat and saving virtual Chinen's life.

     "You love me."

     "Of course I do."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did someone say bed sharing?

   It wasn't until Chinen got to school the next day that he remembered that this upcoming week was exam week. He had calculus and health science and principles of marketing, and hadn't opened his books since the dance recital.

      He came home late, having spent a good deal of time at the campus's library after class, swallowing down some dinner and retreating into his room. Both Takaki and Ryutaro knew, at this point, that it was better not to bother him, Chinen grateful for the silence and solitude that he was given to study.

      He didn't really remember falling asleep on his desk, face buried into a textbook and pencil squished uncomfortably between his left hand and his cheek, but Takaki shook him awake, both hands and laugh gentle as he tucked Chinen into bed.

      "Don't work too hard. It'll be fine."

      Chinen didn't respond, too dazed and sleepy to do so, letting the words drift off with him into his dreams.

      Ryutaro had school the next day but Chinen didn't, making his friend lunch and sending him off with a hug. He studied leisurely throughout the day, working over math problems for an hour and then spending an hour or so snacking or talking to Takaki or texting Yamada. Yamada himself was throwing all of his energy into a dance camp that was going to be over in a few days, video chatting with Yuto every night before going to bed. The two were officially in a relationship now, which was extremely exciting.

      When Ryutaro came home Chinen closed his books, deciding he would catch up on lost time later in the evening, he and Ryutaro making dinner together. The three of them ate at the table, conversation consisting mostly of Ryutaro talking about his day. Afterwards, he excused himself to complete the thirty-seven practice problems he wanted to finish before the day was over. He nearly felt bad about leaving the mess in the kitchen to his friends, but then he considered the marketing and calculus exams he had the next day, and didn't feel quite so guilty about it.

      Takaki entered the room an hour or two later, lying on Chinen's bed and splaying his legs out, playing on his phone. Whether or not he intended on falling asleep Chinen didn't know, but when he decided he wanted to call it quits and get in bed Takaki had passed out, one arm still with his phone in it, the other under his head.

      Chinen didn't want to wake Takaki up, but he wanted even less to sleep on the floor, so as gently as he could he crawled up on to the mattress and laid down in the empty space. Takaki hadn't moved at all though, so Chinen decided no harm could come in scooting a little closer, snuggling into Takaki's side.

      The older man sighed a little in his sleep, and Chinen sighed back. This was nice. It was so nice to be curled under Takaki's arm, feeling warm and safe and cared for.

      He was woken up by his phone alarm blaring, telling him it was time to get ready for school. He tried to sit up, realizing that he couldn't when Takaki whined in his sleep, curling his arms a bit tighter around Chinen's torso and burying his face in Chinen's hair.

      Chinen froze.

      He knew he would be waking up in bed next to Takaki, but he didn't think Takaki would be this close to him, practically wrapped comfortably all the way around him. He also didn't know how he could slip out from Takaki's arms without either waking the man up or thoroughly embarrassing himself, because as long as Takaki was holding him like this, he wouldn't be able to keep the redness off is his face.

      After a good ten minutes of trying to think of what to do, Chinen decided he had to at least do something.

      "Hey," he said gently, shaking his shoulders, "I have to get up."

      Takaki grumbled out something into the back of his neck, tone low and coarse.

      "I have to go to school."

      Takaki cleared his throat a little, what he said this time more clear and understandable.

      "You have tests today, right?"

      "Yeah, two."

      Takaki gave his midsection a tight squeeze. "Good luck."

      Chinen couldn't help but smile at that, Takaki loosening his arms enough for him to slip away. "Thanks."

      While Chinen hadn't been able to get ready to go without rushing, still eating as he ran out the door, he had discovered that Takaki was quite cuddly, even affectionate, upon waking up. And Chinen liked this information very, very much.

      The tests went well, or at least he felt like they did, quite happy on his way home. When he arrived, Ryutaro had a hilarious story to tell about something that had happened in class, and after dinner Yamada called with the painfully adorable news that Yuto had been at his house the night he returned home from camp, giving him both flowers and a kiss. Chinen asked so many questions about the moment that Yamada got flustered and threatened to hang up, but the smile in his voice was so big that Chinen couldn't help but be anything but happy for his friend.

      By the time Chinen got in bed, Takaki was already asleep--on his own air mattress, unfortunately. The lack of extra comfort and warmth made is difficult for Chinen to get to sleep that night, instead sleeping in late in the morning. Every time he tried to engage Takaki in conversation that day he was given one word answers, finally giving up and heading to dance rehearsal early.

      There both of his friends were abuzz about their new relationships, and as nice as all of it was, with the kisses and flowers and slumber parties, Chinen couldn't help but let himself feel a bit upset by it all, coming home and not saying much to either of his housemates, going straight to bed.

      His final exam the next day was a cinch, and when he walked in his home the last thing that he expected was what greeted him--a plate of horribly iced cupcakes.

      "Takaki, what...?"

      "You made it through testing, congratulations." Takaki explained. "I made them, so they're probably horrible, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try."

      Chinen took a bite of one, chewing slowly and swallowing. In all honesty, they were kind of horrible, and Chinen told him so.

      "Thank god you agree, I couldn't eat this even if I wanted to." Takaki said after spitting his first bite in the sink, setting the cupcake down. "Maybe next time you could show me how to make them." Chinen laughed, putting his barely started cupcake down as well.

      "Thank you for making them, though."

      Takaki grinned. "Sure. Oh, how do you feel about going to an amusement park tomorrow?"

      "Amusement park?" Chinen echoed.

      "It's going to be Yuto's birthday, and exams are over. It was Inoo and Daiki's idea."

      Chinen hadn't really ever hung out with the band in a non-band setting, which was something that he had wanted to do. He nodded.

      "Sounds like fun. Who all is going?"

      "The band at least, and Keito..." Takaki said after a moment of thinking. "All friends and boyfriends are invited, I think."

      That made Chinen pause and consider. "Am I Yuto's friend, or am I in the boyfriend category?" He asked.

      "Whose boyfriend are you?" Takaki asked, eyes narrowing for a moment.

      "Well, we're not dating, but..." It had never been brought up before between the two of them, not really, the fact that yes, they were legally wedded to each other. "You're my husband."

      For some reason, that made Takaki's face redden up. "Right. I'm not sure then. Either way, you're coming, if you'd like."

      Chinen nodded. "I would."

      That meant Ryutaro would be there as well, and as strange as it sounded, Chinen was quite excited to see how Ryutaro and Keito interacted. The friend of his in question was currently at his boyfriend's house for a "much needed" movie night, supposed to be back at midnight. But when the eighth reply to Chinen's "It's time for you to get home" texts changed from "Just 10 more minutes" to "This is now a sleepover, goodnight" Chinen gave up on a curfew, instead texting Ryutaro the details of tomorrow's plans.

      "I'm heading to bed, what about you?" Chinen asked Takaki, who was clearing the table of failed cupcakes.

      "I have to go out and do something, actually. It shouldn't take too long though."

      "Alright." As Takaki slipped on some shoes, Chinen headed to his bedroom, thinking. Was he supposed to buy Yuto a gift? Was this a surprise amusement park visit, or did everyone know about it? Takaki hadn't told him. But Takaki was already out the door, Chinen pulling out his phone and contemplating who to ask. Yamada would know, he decided.

      "Hello?"

      "Is Yuto's thing a surprise?"

      "...what thing?"

      Did Yamada not know?

      "Tomorrow, the amusement park..."

      "Oh!" Yamada drew the word out in understanding. "Daiki's oh-so-evil plan of getting Inoo on a roller coaster. It is a surprise. Yabu and Hikaru are going to ride the train with him under the pretext of going somewhere to celebrate finishing exams, and then when they arrive we're going to jump out from behind bushes and scream, or something."

      Oh. That sounded rather interesting.

      "Have you gotten him a gift?" Chinen asked, unable not to grin.

      "No." Yamada responded grudgingly.

      "What're you going to get him?"

      "I don't know!" Yamada whined. "What could Yuto want?"

      Chinen thought for a few moments. "Get him something cute that he can carry around, that tells him he's fantastic."

      "I'm not going to buy him one of those creepy talking teddy bears." Yamada deadpanned. "His real birthday isn't until Sunday, so I'm sure I'll think of something."

      "Alright." Chinen was sure Yamada would. "Good luck."

      Yamada laughed at that and said farewell, Chinen responding in kind and hanging up. By the time Chinen had finished showering and brushing his teeth and everything else he needed to do before getting in bed, Takaki had returned.

      "Hey." Chinen greeted him. "Where did you go?"

      "You'll see tomorrow." Takaki responded. Then he fidgeted slightly, asking,

      "Where should I sleep?"

      Right; the couch was open for the night, and the air mattress was still on the floor. Next to a king-sized bed.

      "Wherever you want to, I guess. The options are endless." Chinen said with a shrug, sliding under his own covers.

      "The bed, if that's okay." Takaki tacked the last bit of the sentence on quickly. "I mean, it's comfortable, I guess."

      Chinen didn't want to argue with that at all. "Sure. There's enough room. As long as you shower first, you smell like motor oil." He scrunched up his nose at the observation. "Seriously, where were you today?"

      "You'll see tomorrow!" Takaki insisted, and Chinen laughed.

      "Fine."

      Chinen was rather drowsy by the time Takaki got in bed next to him, and he instinctively snuggled into the warmth, quite happy that it was back. Takaki just chuckled at his reaction, the sound bringing a smile to his face and making something good flutter about in his chest.

      "Goodnight, Yuyan." He didn't know why he said the nickname, or when his brain had even formulated it, but it felt so right as it was mumbled through sleepy lips and into the fabric of Takaki's t-shirt.

      "Night." Takaki responded, Chinen drifting off.

 

 

      It hadn't really occurred to him exactly how they would be getting to the amusement park until Chinen was standing in front of Takaki's motorcycle, dread in his chest.

      "No. I'm not riding that horrible speed demon any more than I absolutely have to." He said quickly, shaking his head.

      "Oh c'mon. Don't call her that."

      Chinen rolled his eyes. "Can't we just take the train, or something, like Hikaru and Yabu?" He begged.

      "They live near a train station. We would have to ride there anyway. If we're going part of the way on my motorcycle, we might as well go the entire way. Besides, it saves public transportation fees."

      Chinen didn't like how solid Takaki's logic was. "Saving money? Aren't rich people supposed to be more exorbitant?"

      "Aren't nine year olds supposed to have smaller vocabularies?" Takaki shot back, making Chinen stick his tongue out.

      "Shut up."

      "Listen; I know you don't like riding the motorcycle, so I figured you might feel safer if I got you a helmet that actually fit you. Now, you have a small head, so this was the only one that I could find. I hope it's okay."

      Takaki pulled a purple and pink leopard print motorcycle helmet that was obviously meant for young girls, out from behind his back as he spoke. While the design was appalling, Chinen had to admit that it definitely would fit on his head. This is why Takaki had gone out last night, taking Chinen's fears into consideration and trying to remedy them. It was extremely thoughtful.

      "I... Wow." Was all he could think to say.

      "I know, it's bad." Takaki gave the back of his neck an embarrassed rub. "We can go out later and pick out something better, but I just wanted to--"

      "No, it's fine. It's great. Thank you so much." Chinen took the helmet from Takaki's hands, putting it on. It fit rather snugly. "Let's go."

      "Wait, really?" Understandably surprised, Takaki reached for his own helmet.

      "Now, before I change my mind."

      Takaki nodded, getting himself and Chinen situated, and they were off.

      Chinen couldn't tell what was worse, closing his eyes and feeling the hot wind whip past and the bike sway, hearing the grumbling cars, or watching as they darted dangerously quickly through the streets. He just pressed his chest into Takaki's back and tried to assure himself, over and over, that no, they weren't going to die. In all honesty, having a helmet that fit him did make him feel better, and he thanked Takaki silently. The gesture made him wonder if all of the "what if" thoughts about Takaki's feelings were not entirely impossible after all.


	9. Chapter 9

 The entire group, less Yabu, Hikaru, and Yuto, were already there when they arrived.

   "Finally." Inoo griped at them. "Are we good to go in now?"

   Chinen nodded and they did and not much later the guest of honor had arrived as well.

   "Happy birthday!" Chinen shouted with everyone else, Yuto being completely swamped with hugs.

   "Guys! What is all this?" Yuto asked, the smile on his face so wide that Chinen couldn't help but smile bigger too.

   "It's going to be your birthday soon, so surprise!" Inoo exclaimed in elation.

   "This is for me?"

   Chinen hadn't expected how touched Yuto would be by it. Of course it was.

   "What do you want to do first?" Hikaru asked as they walked in. Yuto thought for a moment.

   "That." He said, pointing. It was easily the tallest roller coaster in the park. Yuto was a cannonball into the pool kind of person, Chinen figured.

   Upon his declaration, all of the band members looked at Inoo.

   "What?" Inoo asked back.

   "Are you going to be okay?"

   "Of course!" Inoo said with a casual wave of his hand. Chinen saw Takaki's eyebrows shoot up his forehead, but nobody questioned Inoo's answer, heading towards the roller coaster line.

   "Hey." Chinen said, sidling up to Ryutaro as he spoke. His younger friend gave him a one-armed hug, grinning. "Did you have fun last night?"

   Ryutaro nodded happily, and Keito, who was walking next to his boyfriend, smiled slightly.

   "Did you guys use protection, and all of that?" Chinen asked, tone simple and innocent. Ryutaro blanched, Keito tripping so hard over his own feet that he would have face planted, instead running into Yabu, the two almost toppling over completely. Hikaru caught the both of them, rather alarmed.

   "You two alright?" He asked once he was sure both of the young men were stably on their feet. Yabu nodded, rubbing his shoulder and giving Keito a concerned glance. The entire group had stopped, looking at them in confusion.

   "I'm so sorry!" Keito exclaimed. He bowed twice in rapid succession, holding the second apologetic gesture until Yabu laughed and said everything was fine.

   "I'm okay; it's not like you killed me or anything."

   Keito stood up straight, eyes going wide, as though the possibility of tripping into Yabu and perhaps accidentally killing him was very real and quite scary.

   "Sorry." Keito said again. Yuto laughed, breaking from the circle that had formed around the accident and placing an arm around Keito's shoulders. The clumsy man immediately relaxed a bit, and they continued their journey to the roller coaster line.

   "Oops." Chinen whispered to Ryu.

   As soon as they reached the line, Inoo bolted, flat out running away from the group.

   "Oi!" Daiki shouted, not fast though to grab Inoo's arm as he sprinted off. He chased after his boyfriend, and Chinen had to ask,

   "What's wrong with Inoo?"

   "He's terrified of roller coasters." Hikaru answered with a nod. “Always has been.”

   "We shouldn't make him go on one then, should we?" Yamada asked in concern as Yuto tucked him under his arm.

   "Of course we should." Takaki said, grin on his face. "We should see if we can make him cry."

   "Hey!" Chinen exclaimed, giving Takaki a sharp jab in the ribs with his elbow. The action made the group laugh, Takaki letting out a yelp and whining,

   "What was that for?"

   "That's not nice."

   Daiki was nearly out of sight when he caught up with Inoo, wrapping his arms around the slimmer man's waist and hoisting him off the ground. Inoo flailed a bit and Daiki laughed, making a smile appear on Inoo's face. Eventually, they rejoined the group. The line had barely moved.

   "You riding the roller coaster?" Hikaru remarked upon Inoo's return.

   "You don't have to." Yuto said.

   "Yes you do." Takaki countered. Inoo waved them both off.

   "Daiki said if I ride this one he'd go on the carousel with me." Inoo said happily, clasping Daiki's hand in his and swinging it. Daiki wore an expression that suggested that information was supposed to be kept under wraps.

   Cooing commenced, cut short by Takaki.

   "You guys act so cute and innocent." He said, eyeing them skeptically. The words and suspicion were curious, but as Chinen opened his mouth to ask what that was all about, Yamada beat him to it.

   "What do you mean?"

   "Well, not to name names, but someone nearly got to second base on date two."

   "That was years ago, how do you know about that?" Yabu gasped.

   "Kota, I don't think he was talking about us." Hikaru said, nudging his head in the direction of a beet-red Inoo Kei and an Arioka Daiki who looked like he wanted nothing more than the ground to swallow him whole.

   "Seriously?" Yuto asked, rather loud and incredulous. "I've only just now kissed Yamada."

   Yamada hit Yuto on the arm, giving him a wide-eyed, indignant look.

   "I told him I didn't want to know all of the graphic details, but he let me know anyway." Takaki said dryly, glancing at Inoo. Then he turned his attention to Yabu, saying

   "But really though, you guys too? Second base?"

   "We were teenagers." Hikaru said with a shrug. "Hormones were everywhere."

   "Don't share." Takaki pulled a face. "Please."

   "If you really want to know..." Yabu began, making the entire group break into laughter at the unamused look Takaki shot his friend. "Once upon a time, at an amusement park not too different than this one--really different actually, because we weren't at an amusement park at all, it was a fair--Hikaru and I decided to go ride on the Ferris wheel. By some extremely fortunate twist of fate, the thing got stuck while we were in it, and--"

   "Excuse me, are you all getting on?"

   Yabu's story was interrupted by a man working the roller coaster, holding a cart door open and looking at them all. Yuto boarded first, hand in hand with Yamada, and before long they were all ushered on to roller coaster cars.

   Though Chinen wasn't as terrified of roller coasters as Inoo evidently was, they weren't his favorite. It was a bit of an adrenaline rush, and the shouts of excitement from Yuto on one end of their group and the shrieks from Inoo in the back were rather hilarious to hear. The best part, however, was getting off and being able to laugh at how amazingly messy the ride had made Takaki's hair.

   "What? What is it?" Takaki insisted to know, smiling a bit at Chinen's laughter, but Chinen just shook his head because he knew that as soon as Takaki discovered his disheveled appearance, he would fix it and ruin the fun.

   Thanks to Daiki's promise, their next stop was the carousel. There was a maturity struggle within at least half of the group, but in the end everyone was convinced on to some sort of pony, tiger, or dragon.

   "This is for five year olds." Ryutaro mumbled, perched on the back of a giant chicken.

   "You are the youngest." Chinen pointed out. Ryutaro gave him a look. "Come on Ryu, you're having fun."

   "...maybe." Ryutaro replied grudgingly.

   Once the carousel had gone around enough times for them all to get a bit bored, they all got off they stood around, unsure of what to do next. So they hit the closest ride. They traveled in a mob, and Chinen found himself confined inside a spinning teacup next to Yabu and Keito, with Yamada across from him. They sat in a bit of an awkward silence due to slight unfamiliarity, until the ride started up and Keito let out a small noise.

   "You okay?" Yamada asked. The quiet young man was wide eyed.

   "I don't really like these rides." He mumbled out, just as the teacup began picking up momentum.

   "Why didn't you say something? Or run away like Inoo?" Yabu asked. "You don't have to sit through--"

   The teacup spun and Keito latched himself on to Yamada's arm with another quiet whimper. Yamada was suddenly unsure of what to do, and Chinen couldn't help but giggle.

   Inoo also looked rather shaken when they all met up after the ride, and Takaki was rubbing his arm and wincing. Yuto looked a bit green.

   "No more spinning." He declared, and the group laughed.

   "Where to next?"

   "Could we go on another roller coaster?" Daiki asked excitedly. When the consensus was in favor and they all began heading over, Inoo made a loud noise of disagreement.

   "The deal stated that the other terrifying thing was the only one I had to go on." He protested. "I'm going to keep both feet on the ground, thank you very much."

   "C'mon..." Daiki pouted at him, but Inoo crossed his arms and looked away. If there was going to be a group staying safely on the pavement, Chinen was all for that.

   "I'll stay with Inoo, if that's alright." He said. "And Keito will too."

   Keito gave Chinen a grateful look.

   "I want to stay too." Yamada said when they reached their destination. Nobody seemed too surprised about the slowly growing number of--as Takaki called them, chickens--and after a clarification that the remaining six were, in fact, going to ride the ride and a quick kiss on the cheek from Yuto to Yamada, they split up and Chinen led the way to a bench under the trees.

   "I have an apology to make." Inoo said after they had all sat down. He turned to Yamada, who was still a bit pink and smiley from the sudden and public show of affection.

   "What?" Yamada asked when he realized that the pianist's attention was on him.

   "I'm sorry for thinking that you liked Daiki and frowning every time your name was mentioned in conversation." Inoo said, rather bluntly. Yamada, understandably, wasn't quite sure what to say in response.

   "You probably didn't need to say all of that." Chinen said with a laugh.

   "It's fine." Yamada responded, waving his hand. "I understand, it's alright."

   Inoo didn't seem as though he expected such an instant acceptance of his apology, saying "I want to make it up to you."

   "You really don't need--"

   "Yuto likes stag beetles and having his hair pulled."

   Yamada froze, mouth still forming the end of his interrupted sentence, and Chinen began to get the feeling that this conversation was getting out of hand.

   "There." Inoo declared. Yamada's mouth shut quickly, and he looked down at his hands. The awkward silence was deafening, and Chinen was about to say something--he wasn't sure what, but anything would be better than this--when Keito spoke up.

   "He also... Um... His neck is really sensitive. Ticklish."

   "Thank you." Yamada said quietly, after a few seconds. Chinen decided that really, nothing could save this conversation anymore, and they all sat in silence until the rest of the group returned.

   As soon as Inoo could, he leapt up from the bench, wrapping his arms around Daiki's neck.

   "I'm hungry!" He said, Daiki smiling at his boyfriend's clingy behavior.

   "Want some bad carnival food?"

   Inoo nodded, and Chinen looked around to see what direction the smell of fried food was coming from. To his dismay, it appeared to be rather far.

   Hoping this trick worked as well as it did when he was thirteen, Chinen pouted, sighed, and said

   "But I'm tired..."

   "I could, um, give you a piggy back ride." Keito spoke up from next to Chinen on the bench. "If that's not weird or anything."

_Yes._

   "That would be so nice of you, thanks!"  Chinen said with the brightest smile he had, hopping up on Keito's back. Despite the older man fumbling his feet earlier, Chinen felt rather secure on Keito's back, not jostling at all as they made their way through the park.

   Through there were many different food booths to choose from, all of them were serving more or less the same thing. Nearly everyone wanted something sweet, like ice cream or funnel cake, but it was decided that they needed to eat something at least a bit healthier first.

   Chinen was about to say what he wanted when he was plucked off of Keito's back by Takaki, who began awkwardly holding him under his arms and knees.

   "What's this about?" Chinen asked him. Takaki awkwardly set him back on his feet.

   "You probably shouldn't eat on Keito's back, right?" Takaki asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "If you still want to be carried though, I could..."

   "Thanks, but it's alright." Takaki did have a point. But hopefully Chinen could take him up on that offer later.

   It was Ryutaro who gave in and bought a funnel cake, and the first thing he did was smile and shove a rather large amount of it in Keito's face, getting powdered sugar everywhere. The older man spluttered, surprised and a bit worried, but when he saw how much his boyfriend was laughing at his reaction his entire expression softened into something extremely affectionate, and he began to laugh too.

   Chinen decided he wanted to try that.

   He pouted his way into Yamada buying him a funnel cake too--though really, it wasn't a trick anymore, Yamada knew exactly what Chinen was trying to do, deciding to indulge him--and after tasting a bit, Chinen got as much powdered sugar as he could on his left fingers and turned to Takaki, hiding the hand behind his back.

   "Yuyan."

   The nickname caught the older man's attention rather effectively, and Chinen used the moment of surprise to his advantage, smudging his fingers all over Takaki's face.

   "Hey!" Takaki shouted immediately, jerking back and running a few feet away, making Chinen double over in laughter. Takaki managed to lunge forward and try to tip the plate over on to Chinen's head, Chinen squeaking and dropping it on the ground.

   Takaki looked at him in open-mouthed surprise, laughing incredulously.

   "Look what you did!"

   "It was your fault!" Chinen exclaimed back. "You were going to dump it on me!"

   Takaki was still laughing, and Chinen huffed at him, crossing his arms.

   "I'm so glad that food didn't just... Go to waste, or anything." Yamada said dryly, who had been standing to Chinen's right, watching the entire charade. The comment brought Chinen back to the world around them, to the fact that everyone was standing around, watching the rather loud foolishness that had just occurred. Inoo was smiling much too widely at the interaction.

   "Hey, this tastes pretty good." Takaki remarked, wiping some sugar off his cheek and licking his fingertips.

   "Of course it does. It's sugar." Chinen deadpanned, arms still crossed. Takaki smudged some off of the side of his mouth with an index finger, extending his hand to Chinen.

   "Try some."

   Chinen scrunched up his nose. "I don't want to lick something that's been on your face!" He protested, making Takaki laugh again.

   "Fine."

   He was smiling, smiling so happily, Chinen getting so caught up in his expression that he didn't notice Takaki's hand getting closer to his face. A touch on his cheek made him jolt back into the moment, realizing that Takaki had rubbed powdered sugar on his face.  
        "Takaki!"  
        Takaki laughed even harder, Chinen running behind Yamada to hide the blush rising on his face, rubbing his cheek clean.

   "When are you guys going to start dating, anyway?" Yamada asked, raising an eyebrow.

   "Shut up." Chinen muttered, looking over to Ryutaro and Keito in time to see Ryutaro kissing some powdered sugar off the tip of Keito's nose. The two had grown comfortable enough within the group to act like the couple that they were, fingers laced clumsily together as they walked. They were quiet as they fell into step with each other, easily melting into Yuto and Yamada's conversation. Chinen decided to join too, wrapped up in a discussion about just how cute Yuto and Yamada were. A little teasing was in order.

   "Yamada, did you know that for weeks after you guys met up, every time Yuto came over, he would ask me questions about you?" Chinen asked, smile on his face. "He wrote down everything I said on this little notepad, and--"

   "Hey! Did not!" Yuto exclaimed. Chinen raised an eyebrow.

   "I didn't write down everything." Yuto finally said, making them laugh. "Only the important stuff."

   "I've seen it, I've seen the notebook." Keito spoke up. "He has little comments in there. 'Yama-chan likes strawberries, how cute. When can I call him Yama-chan?' Stuff like that."

   Yuto was a deeper shade of red than Yamada's favorite fruit at this point, his boyfriend nudging his shoulder. "I want to read it." He said.

   "No!"

   "It's in his bedside table drawer." Keito supplied.

   "Oi, Keito..." Yuto whined, letting his head fall back, Yamada extending his hand for a high five.

   "Hey, Yamada is bad too." Ryutaro said. "He talked about Yuto all the time. He would call me every night: 'Ryutaro, Yuto texted me today!' I have my own relationship! I don't need to hear about yours!"

   "Hey, I'm still upset with you Ryutaro." Chinen said with a huff. "I can believe I was the only one that didn't know about..." He gestured to Ryu and Keito. "This."

   "It wasn't on purpose!"

   "You had time to update me on your little brother's relationship status, but not your own?" Ryutaro put his hands over his face, laughing a little. "'How's life on your end?' I ask. You had to wait until your kitchen burnt down to tell me about this best boyfriend in the world that you have."

   "I thought we were teasing Yamada!" Ryutaro protested.

   "What about the first time Yamada saw Yuto? You weren't there, Ryu."

   "What happened?" Ryutaro asked, genuinely interested. Yamada was shaking his head quickly, but Chinen decided to pretend not to see.

   "Well, we went to watch the band, and Yuto is in the middle of this drum solo when Yamada grabs my arm and says he knows the drummer. Then I said Yuto's name and all Yamada said was 'Oh my god.' I didn't get an explanation until after the performance when Yamada asked me whether or not he should talk to Yuto."

   "Why wouldn't you want to talk to me?" Yuto asked, sounding a bit hurt. When Yamada didn't answer, Chinen did it for him.

   "You were hot and it made him nervous."

   Yamada shoved Chinen's shoulder, the action doing nothing to stop the giggles coming out of Chinen's mouth.  
        "Oh." Was all Yuto said, as though his thoughts were somewhere else, brought back when Ryutaro asked,

   "Hey, where's Keito?"

   It didn't take too long to find him. Keito had wandered to an arcade booth, and was playing a game. Ryutaro was smiling.

   "Ah, now I have to go win him something too." The teenager said. "Hold on."

   Ryutaro left as well, and the four of them watched as Keito tried and failed to win a prize. He came back rather bashfully, hands in his pockets.

   "Turns out I couldn't play it." He said. "Where's Ryutaro?"

   They all just shrugged. Suddenly there was an arm around Chinen's shoulders. A glance up told Chinen that it was Takaki, holding a small, bright pink... Something.

   "I just got this for fun, but I don't want it." A closer look revealed that it was a gorilla stuffed animal. "You can have it if you want. Here."

   "Oh, uh..." Chinen didn't seem as though he had a choice in the matter as Takaki handed the stuffed animal over. It was cute, though, so Chinen didn't mind. "Thanks."

   "Ryutaro?" The high schooler had returned, carrying a stuffed tiger about as big as himself over his shoulder.

   "For you." Ryutaro told Keito, who was turning red. He said thank you, a bit baffled.

   "I'll sleep with it in my bed every night." Keito vowed seriously, taking the tiger and placing it on his own shoulders.

   "Then there won't be room for me!" Ryutaro protested.

   "What?" Chinen exclaimed. "Wait! What did you guys do last night?"

   A number of skillfully avoided questions and a few amusement park rides later, they all decided to call it quits on the day. There were hugs and farewells all around, Daiki and Inoo heading out first. Yuto's mother came next, picking up Yuto, Yamada, Keito, and Ryutaro, the youngest promising that he would be home that night. Hikaru and Yabu left next, Chinen and Takaki getting on the motorcycle.

   Chinen couldn't tell if he was simply getting used to the growling beast or if having a hot pink gorilla stuffed animal and a pink and purple leopard print helmet helped as they made their way back home. As soon as they went inside the house Takaki's cell phone began to ring.

   "Who is it?"

   Takaki glanced at the caller ID. "Daiki." He reported, answering. "What do you want? ...Everybody?"

   Chinen took off his shoes, lining them up neatly and going into the kitchen for a glass of water. Takaki stuck his head around the corner of the doorway.

   "Daiki's gathering up a group to go to Hikaru's ramen stand later. You want to come?"

   "Sure." Chinen said after a moment of consideration. He wasn't sick of everyone quite yet.

    Takaki relayed that to Daiki, and after asking if eight o'clock was a good time, hung up. Chinen went into the bedroom, placing the stuffed animal Takaki had given him in the middle of the bed, between the two pillows. The sheets were messy on each side of the bed from it not being made that morning, each pillow propped up and the toy sitting on the middle. The scene made something stir in his chest.

_"It sounds like he likes you, Chinen."_

    Maybe his friends were right.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's happening folks

   "Ah Chinen, good news." Ryutaro said, walking through the door and setting his backpack down, accepting the hug that Chinen gave him. "Turns out that the kitchen wasn't as bad as it seemed, so it's almost done being repaired."

   "Really?" Chinen asked, surprised. "That fast?"

   "Apparently." Ryutaro took off his shoes, walking over and sitting on the couch. "All of the area around the microwave had to be completely dug out and replaced, which included the refrigerator, but once the countertops are all on there we'll be good to go. Except for the walls, but my mother had always said she wanted to repaint them, so she's doing it herself."

   Chinen nodded. He didn't want Ryutaro to move out, but he supposed his own house was a better place for his friend to be.

   "Are you excited to go back home?" Chinen asked.

   Ryutaro nodded. "It was great to live here with you, but I miss my room. Plus, my house is closer to Keito's, so it's easier to walk over and sneak in his window--"

   "What the hell is your relationship even like?" Chinen had to ask. He had never gotten a straight answer to his question, and this time was no exception.

   "I miss Shintaro, too."

   Chinen had forgotten completely about Shintaro's living situation. "What're you going to do about Juri?" He asked.

   "Tie him to a chair and poke him with a fork until I'm positively sure he hasn't done anything..." Ryutaro made a face. "Bad to my little brother."

   That made Chinen laugh. "Oh c'mon. I'm sure everything was fine."

   Ryutaro didn't seem to agree. "You can't trust teenage boys." He said flatly.

   "But you're a teenage boy."

   "Exactly."

   "Hey, Chinen? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

   Chinen's turned immediately to the voice. It was Takaki, looking in from the kitchen, and upon hearing his voice Chinen realized how little Takaki had actually spoken to him in the past few days. The older man had been strangely elusive, which was a complete turnaround compared to how he had been even about a week before. And how he was calling Chinen in for a private conversation? What could this be about?

   It took Takaki a while to actually start speaking, Chinen having to lean against the refrigerator, cross his arms, and finally prompt him.

   "So? What is it?"

   "I... Well, uh..."

   He looked and sounded extremely nervous, serving to increase Chinen's confusion. What was wrong?

   Takaki's mouth was shut tightly, obviously not eager to stumble over his words again. He took a breath, placing a large hand on Chinen's shoulder. Then he began leaning down, and Chinen knew exactly what was going to happen.

   Every muscle in Chinen's body seemed to relax at Takaki's contact, eyes fluttering closed. It was so perfect and simple and easy, and maybe even overdue, to have Takaki's lips on his, to have Takaki kissing him.

   When Takaki began pulling away Chinen did not want him to, getting up on the balls of his feet as Takaki began straightening his back. But Takaki stood up, Chinen rolling back on to his heels.

   Wait. That had just happened.

   Why? What was Takaki doing? Avoiding him for about a week and then simply kissing him out of nowhere, with no explanation, was strange behavior for anyone. Someone like Takaki wasn't supposed to be this confusing.

   "What the  _hell_ was that?"

   "...what?"

   Takaki seemed confused as to why Chinen himself was confused, which really, did not make any sense at all. Had Chinen missed something?

   "You just kissed me."

   Takaki nodded. So, they were both on the same page. Except they definitely weren't.

   "Why?"

   "I..." Takaki fidgeted, looking at everything but Chinen's face. "Well, I like you."

   Oh. _Oh._

_Oh my god._

   "You like me?"

   Takaki rolled his lips between his teeth, nodding.

   "So you decide to just kiss me out of nowhere?" That didn't make any sense, and now Chinen felt flustered and a bit embarrassed.

   "Is there something wrong with that?" Takaki asked back, sounding rather defensive. "A kiss means someone really likes you, right?"

   "Not if you don't know that's what it's supposed to mean!" Normal people would confess, or invite someone out to dinner! "Were you planning on even asking me on a date, or anything?"

   Takaki looked completely dumbfounded for a second, and Chinen nearly burst out laughing.

   "I... Maybe I will!" Takaki was matching his voice in both volume and tone, loud and indignant.

   "Good!" Chinen put his hands on his hips, raising his eyebrows, waiting.

   "Would you like to go see a movie, or something, with me next weekend?" Takaki asked, frustration evident in his hand gestures.

   "Fine!" Chinen was equally frustrated, and it sunk in a few seconds later how angry the entire confession and date invitation had sounded, making Chinen look at Takaki and grin. This was ridiculous.

   Takaki seemed to agree, and not soon after they were laughing at themselves, and each other.

   "We're stupid." Chinen remarked.

   "No, I'm stupid." Takaki amended, and Chinen couldn't argue with that. " Even Inoo said so. Really though, a movie this weekend?"

   He was going to movie this weekend. With Takaki.

   "Yeah." Nodding and smiling again, Chinen went back into the living room.

   "Ryu! Ryu! Did you--"

   "Of course I heard." Ryutaro grumbled. "You guys were yelling! I'm so glad I'm moving out."

   Chinen nudged his shoulder in protest, and Ryutaro just laughed. "Trust me. I don't want to get in the way of all your gross relationship stuff. And I already threatened to cripple him, so you're all set to go."

   "Cripple him?"

   "I had to do it." Ryutaro responded defensively.

   "Yeah." Chinen agreed. "I guess you did."

   Ryutaro's countertops and fridge ended up getting installed completely by the next day, and on Saturday Ryutaro was able to begin moving back in to his room. Chinen offered to help after class, but he wasn't sure just how much help he was actually being by sitting on Ryutaro's bed next to Keito and telling the quieter man all about the fact that he had a date later that day. He had already talked to Ryutaro about it three times, which exasperated the younger quite a bit because yes, while the event was exciting, he had been there when it happened. Chinen just couldn't help it.

   "How is all of this going to work out?" Keito asked when he was done. "You guys live together."

   Chinen shrugged. He didn't really care about the logistics. "Should I kiss him? Is the first date too soon? It sort of feels like it is, but he did already kiss me once, so does that matter?"

   "Well, Ryutaro and I--" Keito began, trying to be helpful, but Ryutaro elbowed him and shook his head.

   "Ryu!" Chinen protested. "Why can't I know?"

   Ryutaro just grinned and went back to putting clothes in his closet.

   "Just do whatever feels right at the time." He said. "You'll know."

   Chinen was about to protest--"But what if I don't?"--when the front door opened.

"I'm home!"

   Before Chinen had even managed to register the voice as Shintaro's, Ryutaro was already out the door, bounding down the stairs. Shintaro was in a headlock by the time Chinen and Keito joined them, one hand up, trying to dislodge his brother's arm, the other awkwardly at his side, fingers interlocked with the fingers of the young man behind him. Juri, Chinen guessed.

   "Get off!" Shintaro protested, but he was laughing, and after Ryutaro tousled his hair a little, he complied to the request.

   "How was it?" Chinen asked. "Staying out of your house for a while, I mean."

   Shintaro ducked his head to hide a grin. "It was fun."

   Ryutaro's eyebrows had disappeared behind his bangs. "Fun?" He repeated.

   Juri immediately adopted a terrified expression, but Shintaro squared his jaw.

   "Yes." He responded slowly. "Fun."

   Ryutaro let out a quick breath through his nose. Shintaro laughed a little.

   "Would you like to supervise us as I take my clothes out of my suitcase and put them in my closet?" He asked. It was obviously a mocking request, so when Ryutaro responded with a rather firm "Definitely," it was Shintaro's turn to let out a quick breath through his nose.

   "You offered." Ryutaro pointed out defensively.

   "I'm going to go." Chinen announced. There were only a few hours before the movie--he had to get ready. After hugging both of the Morimotos, waving to Keito and shaking Juri's hand, he was out the door.

   When he got home, nobody was there. Chinen decided not to worry about it, getting ready. However, when there was less than half an hour until the movie started and Takaki still wasn't anywhere to be found, he began to feel a bit frantic. He wasn't being bailed on, was he?

   There was a knock on the front door.  Takaki was standing there, rather simply dressed in jeans and a faded t-shirt, leather jacket unzipped and shrugged over his shoulders.

   "You ready to go?" He asked.

   "Are we on our date now?" Chinen asked back, voice hushed. Takaki grinned.

   "Of course. I'm here to pick you up."

   Chinen almost wanted to hit Takaki for making him worry, but instead he smiled and nodded. "Let's go."

   They arrived at the movie theater exactly when the movie was supposed to start, giggling as they rushed inside.

   "You don't mind missing the previews, right?" Takaki whispered after they'd found seats. Chinen shook his head, still laughing a little as the movie began. Being late and laughing about it diffused the awkward tension that was given the chance to accumulate during the motorcycle ride, and Chinen leaned comfortably on to Takaki's shoulder for most of the movie.

   Since Takaki had done the asking out, Takaki also picked the movie. Chinen hadn't paid any attention to what theater they went to while they were hurrying in, but it ended up being a comedy action movie. While it was a bit stupid at times, Chinen was surprised by how much of it he found funny. Takaki enjoyed the movie as well, smiling as they left the theater.

   "That was fun." He said, stretching his arms up over his head. Chinen nodded.

   "What do you want to do now?"

   As Chinen watched, an almost devious smile grew on Takaki's face.

   "Let's go get some ice cream."

   "But we haven't had dinner yet." Chinen protested. "You'll ruin your appetite."

   "So?"

   "You'll ruin  _my_ appetite."

   "So?" Takaki asked again, grabbing Chinen's hand and tugging him down the street a bit. "C'mon. My treat."

   "Fine." Chinen tried to sound grumbly, tried to act reluctant, but Takaki was holding his hand and buying him ice cream and really, he couldn't be happier.

   Hand in hand, they discussed the movie as they walked, arguing over favorite characters, Takaki presenting a completely ridiculous conspiracy theory about the plot that made Chinen laugh until his face hurt. By the time the ice cream was fully gone, they had reached the motorcycle.

   "You ready to go home?" Takaki asked. Chinen nodded, picking up his helmet. As they were speeding back, Chinen felt nerves bubbling in his stomach for the first time that night. It was now time to stand awkwardly around and talk about how much fun they had, and for the date to be over. If he wanted to kiss Takaki, this was his chance.

   But he still wasn't sure if it would be a good idea. Ryutaro said that he would just know, but so far he didn't yet. He definitely wanted to kiss Takaki, but if the opportunity didn't present itself, he decided, he wouldn't go for it.

   "Did you have a good time?" Takaki asked. They were standing in front of the closed front door, motorcycle parked at the edge of the driveway, Takaki still holding his helmet under his arm.

   "I did." Chinen answered honestly. He really, really did have a good time, even if it had been as simple as a movie and ice cream. Takaki smiled.

   "Good."

   Chinen didn't know what else to say, and apparently Takaki didn't either.

   "Until next time then." Takaki held his helmet in both hands, as though he was about to put it back on.

   "Are you going somewhere?" Chinen asked, confused.

   "Of course. We're still on a date, after all. Right now I'm just dropping you off."

   "Oh." Okay. Then Takaki's helmet was on his head and he drove off, all chances of a kiss leaving with him.

   It was already evening, sun having set when they left the theater, so Chinen put on a pair of pajama pants and a comfortable t-shirt, sitting on the couch and taking out his cell phone. He had a number of texts from Yamada, Ryutaro, and Inoo, all asking him how his day had gone. He was halfway through replying when the front door opened.

   "Hey." It was Takaki, also dressed in pajama pants and t-shirt, everything about the getup suggesting that he had been home all evening except for the pizza box in his hands. "I'm home, and I brought dinner. Hungry?"

   Chinen shook his head. "I just had some ice cream." He explained.

   "Ice cream?" Takaki asked, sitting next to Chinen on the couch and placing the pizza box on the coffee table, eyebrows raised. "You shouldn't eat ice cream before dinner, or you'll ruin your appetite."

   Chinen threw Takaki a look, making the older man giggle.

   "That's exactly what I said, but my date was rather insistent."

   "A date?" Mock surprise graced Takaki's features. "How was that?"

   "Better than I expected." Chinen answered honestly. "Though I shouldn't have been surprised. I've really liked this guy for a while and he's good at making me happy, so of course I had fun."

   Takaki wasn't looking at him, both his eyes and his hands in his lap, but Chinen was able to see a large smile on his face.

"I had a date today too." Takaki answered when he looked up. "And this guy... He's the cutest guy I've ever seen. He's even cuter than you, I bet."

   That made Chinen stick his tongue out at Takaki.

   "At first I wasn't sure about him because we were put into this weird situation, and even after he confessed to me I--"

   "I-- I mean,  _he_  did what?" Chinen had confessed to Takaki? What was he talking about? "When?"

   "This one night when he was really upset about school." Takaki shrugged. "He had exams and a dance recital coming up, and he just ranted at me a little bit. But apparently," Takaki grinned "he didn't notice what he said."

   Chinen was put into an embarrassed silence, barely able to believe that his months-long crush hadn't been much of a secret at all, Takaki chuckling as he continued. "Anyways, I didn't really start having feelings until I saw him dancing. It's something he's really spectacular at."

   If Takaki kept complimenting him, he would be putting himself in very real danger of possibly being jumped. Affectionately, of course.

   "Was your date good too?" Chinen decided to ask. Takaki nodded immediately.

   "I managed to find a way to hold his hand without being awkward, so I'm pretty proud of myself."

   That made Chinen giggle a bit. "Congratulations. I do have one complaint about my date though."

   Takaki's head shot up, looking at him with poorly masked concern.

   "It wasn't my date's fault." Chinen said quickly. "It was mine."

   "What was it?"

   "I never got the chance to kiss him." Chinen shrugged. "I wanted to, but it never felt like the right time. I don't know. I just really would have liked that."

   "Well," Takaki shrugged back. "I'm sure he would have really liked that too."

   Chinen decided then to just lean over and kiss him.


	11. Chapter 11

      The next few months were, to put it simply, fantastic. First of all, Takaki. Takaki. He was a more amazing boyfriend than Chinen had thought to give him credit for. He would wake Chinen up with lazy kisses in the mornings, promise to one day kidnap Chinen out of class every time Chinen requested he do so--"It'd be a romantic, consensual abduction"--and had either a hand in Chinen's own or an arm around Chinen's shoulders whenever possible, which was something Chinen quite liked.

      More than that though, Chinen found that he rather enjoyed kissing Takaki. He had guessed a long time ago, before they had truly even met, that his husband was probably a good kisser, and was thoroughly enjoying the fact that his assumption was correct. He had told Takaki--it was more of an apology, really--that he didn't have much experience, saying that he should probably practice.

      "As long as it's on me, I don't mind." Takaki responded, raising an eyebrow.

      "That's what I meant, idiot." Chinen answered, bringing Takaki in by the collar of his shirt. The PDA was difficult to keep in check when their friends were around, and eventually they both sort of gave up on the idea, as long as Ryutaro wasn't around.

      Ryutaro still hung out a lot at Chinen and Takaki's house, despite moving back in to his own room, which was great. It was nice to keep in such continual contact with him, unlike when Chinen had first moved out of the neighborhood. Unfortunately though, if Takaki did anything more than put a hand on Chinen's shoulder, he was earned a glare.

      When they weren't close to each other, however, it was obvious that Ryutaro was warming up to Takaki, just as Chinen thought they would. They would have excited conversations about things they liked, and then, as though realizing what was happening, would abruptly stop, Ryutaro crossing his arms and looking away. They had similar humor and interests, though it was something they would never admit.

      Ryutaro got along with the rest of the band as well, to the point where casual conversation, playful teasing, and even a bit of rough-housing were not out of the ordinary. The last mutual friend to be fully integrated into the group was Keito, but the opportunity for that presented itself one band rehearsal when both Ryutaro and Keito were over, and someone made an offhand statement about how cool recording some of their own songs would be.

      "I have some recording equipment at my house." Keito spoke up. "I don't use it much, so you guys could try it out if you'd like."

      "Seriously?" Everyone was quite surprised by the generous offer, Keito shrugging and nodding.

      "I really only use it for my guitar lessons, or with Yuto, so it's fine with me."

      Gratitude was expressed rather loudly, and a week later they all met up at Keito's. The house was huge, quiet, impeccably clean, and mostly black and white. Chinen was afraid to touch anything, Keito seeming to notice and walking up to him, saying,

      "Don't worry. I've probably tripped over everything in this house; nothing is going to happen to it."

      When Keito had said "some recording equipment", Chinen had expected maybe a few nice microphones and a computer, but instead they were greeted with a soundproof booth, microphones next to some music stands, and a laptop hooked up to an entire soundboard.

      "Woah!" They all ran in, looking excitedly at everything.

      "I don't know what most of those buttons do." Keito confessed as Daiki took a seat behind the long panel. They all spent a while fiddling with things, experimenting with the microphones and effects. Once they had figured out enough to actually start recording they did, small parts at a time, individually. It was a puzzle to fit the parts together, much more complex than Chinen had thought it would be. The band seemed very excited however, ready to take on the task before them, and started meeting more regularly at Keito's.

 

 

 

      "Chinen! Chinen! Have you heard?" Daiki asked excitedly, running up to him before dance rehearsal one Thursday.

      "Well, I was born with ears, so I think I have successfully completed that action at least once in my life." Chinen answered dryly. Yamada snorted back laughter, also focusing his attention on their older friend. Daiki however, was too excited for the statement to put any damper on his enthusiasm, exclaiming

      "Inoo just texted me; Yabu and Hikaru are engaged!"

      "What?!" Yamada burst out, getting looks from the rest of the room. Chinen face split automatically into a smile--that was  _fantastic_ \--Daiki nodding fervently.

      "Hikaru proposed to Yabu two days ago, and he said yes. Apparently it was amazing."

      "No details?" Chinen asked, disappointed.

      "Well..." Daiki looked down at his phone, rereading the text message and raising an eyebrow. "They went to a middle school, or something. That's kind of weird, actually."

      That made Chinen laugh, Daiki's phone going off again.

      "What now?" Yamada asked. Daiki showed them his phone screen.

_From: Angel Face_

_We NEED to have a party. calling Takaki now._

      "Inoo is in your phone as 'Angel Face?'" Yamada asked skeptically. Daiki flushed, locking his phone and shoving it in his pocket.

      "Shut up."

      "Yuto is in Yamada phone as 'Ugh You're Attractive' if that makes you feel any better." Chinen said, making Daiki burst out laughing, embarrassment forgotten, Yamada whirling on Chinen indignantly.

      "How--?!"

      "Let's get started please!" The teacher interrupted, clapping her hands, all of them quickly trying to compose themselves and falling in with the rest of the class.

      Chinen woke on Saturday morning to the sound of Takaki yelling. He had woken to the sound of Takaki yelling before, but this time he sounded shrill and scared, making Chinen crack his eyes open.

      Ryutaro was standing in the doorway, about ready to crack his knuckles and maybe someone else's ribs. Inoo was standing there as though he knew what was going on but was not quite sure what to do about it, and Takaki was standing by the side of the bed, hands up by his chest.

      "Ryu?" Why were they in their house? Why were they in his room? "Inoo...?"

      At his voice, all three of them turned to look at him. It was Inoo that spoke first.

      "Morning! Would you like to blow up some balloons?"

      Inoo was much too chipper, making Chinen squint at him and fight the urge to lie back down.

      "Engagement party." Takaki said after a moment. Right; it was Saturday, meaning that they were hosting a party for Hikaru and Yabu's announced engagement before the band went off to play at their weekly job. Of course everyone was here. They needed to set up and prepare for their guests.

      "Sure." Chinen answered Inoo's question, sitting up. "Let me get dressed first."

      Ryutaro really looked like he was about to snap Takaki in half at that statement, so Chinen decided to intervene.

      "Out of my pajamas and into some jeans, Ryutaro."

      Nobody moved, and after a few seconds of silent waiting, Inoo walked up and put an arm around Ryutaro's shoulders, steering him towards the exit.

      "C'mon Hulk, let's go. They need to put some pants on and you have a boyfriend with a bleeding finger, remember?"

      Keito was bleeding? Chinen didn't feel like asking about it.

      As soon as the room was empty, Takaki leaned down and gave Chinen a kiss.

      "Good morning."

      Chinen beamed. "Morning. What was Ryutaro so mad about?"

      "Well," Takaki slipped the shirt he had slept on off, tugging a clean one on. Chinen tried not to stare. "He's finally realizing that we're dating, I think."

      That made Chinen laugh, and once they were dressed they went out into the living room. The space was much more colorful than it had been last night, streamers from one wall to another, a growing pile of balloons on the couch, courtesy of Keito and Yuto, and some kind of creation in progress in the kitchen.

      "How long have you all been here?" Chinen had to ask.

      "Only about an hour." Yamada answered with a shrug, one measuring cup in each hand. Oh dear.

      Chinen sat down next to Yuto on the couch, tying a few balloons for them as he tried to wake up further. He was only really half listening to the conversation taking place next to him, but he felt that even if he had been paying attention intently it still wouldn't have made much sense. It was as though Keito and Yuto had their own language.

      After the balloons were all blown they were either strung up as well or scattered around the floor. Half of the group decorated the cake and the other half cleaned up the kitchen, Inoo going and getting the wrapped presents from the car. Finally, they opened up the confetti, ready and waiting. Not too long after there was a knock on the door, Yamada bounding forward to open it.

      Hikaru and Yabu were there, hands clasped, a sparkle that Chinen could only guess was the ring on Yabu's free hand. The two were drenched in confetti, surprising them.

      "Wow, this is amazing." Hikaru said, looking around the room.

      "The ring! I want to see the ring!" Inoo voiced exactly what Chinen had been thinking. Apparently many others had the same request, all flocking around Yabu as he held his hand out for all of them to see.

      The ring was beautiful, fitting both Yabu's finger and his personality perfectly. Hikaru had done a wonderful job. And he knew it too, judging by the thoroughly pleased smile on his face.

      "We have cake!" Daiki declared as they all found seats in the living room. He and Yamada ran into the kitchen, bringing the baked confection out slowly with much introduction. As soon as everyone had taken a few bites, Chinen felt it was time to ask the most important question of the day.

      "How did you propose, Hikaru?"

      Everyone in the room turned their attention to Hikaru, who was seated next to Yabu in the armchair.

      "Well, um..." He seemed to be bracing himself to tell the story, finally starting. "Tuesday was our anniversary, right? Ten years."

      Daiki whistled, Chinen also impressed by how long the two had been together. That was what, half of his life span? Hikaru grinned.

      "I'd actually been wanting to propose to him for a while, but I didn't really know how or when. By the time I had the date figured out, I had told Daiki about it."

      Chinen nodded. He too had known that Hikaru had proposing on his mind. Apparently the rest of the band had not, however, all of them turning on Daiki at once.

      "You  _knew_?" Inoo, fairly enough, seemed the most astounded by the hidden information. "And you didn't say  _anything_?"

      "You can't keep secrets! Yabu would have found out a day after we went to the amusement park. Hikaru wasn't ready to buy the ring yet."

      Daiki's protest was rather sound, Inoo just pouting and crossing his arms in objection.

      "Is that why we all went out to Hikaru's for ramen?" Keito spoke up, Chinen realizing that yes, that probably was the reason. He remembered when he had first met Hikaru, the older man planning to save up money for a ring.

      "You'd been planning for that long?" Ryutaro asked, Hikaru shrugging in response.

      "You told me about wanting to get married too." Chinen pointed out. Hikaru had been planning on proposing for much longer than that. "The first time we met, remember?"

      "Right!" Hikaru exclaimed after a few moments of careful thought. "I'd already began saving money at that point, I think."

      Everyone seemed surprised by that, Inoo still looking rather indignant about being left out.

      "Anyway..." Now that Hikaru's thoughtfulness had been revealed, he continued the proposal story. "The night before I barely got any sleep, and so I didn't get to see much of Kota before he went off to school--and yes," Hikaru glanced over at Yabu" He did go to school on our anniversary--"

      "I'm sorry!" Yabu cut him off apologetically. "I had a test! How was I supposed to know you were going to..." He floundered his hands. "To do all of that?"

      "Inoo said something about a middle school when he was texting me. That needs a little explanation." Daiki said skeptically. That reminded Chinen of when Daiki announced the news unable not to mutter "Angel face." under his breath.

      Daiki spun around quickly to face him, giving Chinen a warning look and the tiniest of head shakes. Chinen just smiled innocently back. Before anything more could happen, Hikaru started up again.

      "Middle school, right... I packed a picnic-type dinner and, with permission from the principal, we went down to the middle school that we first met at."

      Chinen couldn't resist "aww"ing loudly with everyone else in the room, the reaction embarrassing poor Hikaru so much that Yabu patted his shoulder and continued the story for him.

      "First we stopped at the first place he had seen me, which is a completely ridiculous thing to be able to remember. Then we went to one of our old classrooms, where we were the first time we talked to each other."

      It was amazing that Hikaru and Yabu were able to remember that much about each other. Chinen had barely any solid recollections of when and where he was at moments in his life ten years ago, let alone who he had talked to. Then again, he supposed that doing coloring pages in the fifth year of elementary and meeting your soul mate were very different circumstances.

      "We had dinner where we always ate lunch together, and then he took me to where he confessed to me our second year of middle school, and..." Yabu suddenly wasn't quite alright anymore, voice slowing, glancing at the ceiling. "Well..."

    He came to a complete stop, swallowing and refusing to meet anyone's eyes, looking at his hands instead.

      "He asked me to marry him."

      The words made it obvious that Yabu had a rather large lump in his throat, but Chinen wasn't concerned; Yabu also had a rather large smile on his face.

      "Oi, stop crying!" Takaki's exclamation earned him a rather watery eyed glare, the rest of the room breaking out into affectionate laughter, even Hikaru smiling as he reached over, wiping the tears off one of Yabu's cheeks with his thumb.

      "This is nothing; you should have seen him Tuesday."

      "Shut up!" Yabu's protests did nothing to quiet the amusement in the room, giving each and every one of them a disgruntled look and sinking further into the armchair.

      "How come you didn't tell anyone until Thursday? Some of your best friends getting engaged is something pretty important, you know."

      Yuto's question was a rather valid one, but neither Yabu nor Hikaru answered it, passing glances, looking rather reluctant to speak. Inoo waved a hand.

      "They were probably too busy having sex all day."

      The statement, meant to be a playful one, made Keito accidentally inhale half of his glass of water. Chinen expected denials or laughs from the couple but got neither, smiles and shrugs instead.

      Inoo looked slightly mortified.

      "Oh god, just take the presents and get out, you disgusting animals."

      Takaki took that as his cue to get up, taking his arm from around Chinen's shoulders and walking behind the couch, where the presents were hiding. As Inoo and Daiki pelted Hikaru and Yabu with the lighter gifts for their shamelessness, Takaki deposited the biggest present in Yabu's lap.

      Chinen wasn't sure what was so great about a new coffee maker, but apparently it was a very big deal, having been heavily emphasized throughout the gift buying process. It was a good gift to give though, if recipients' reactions were anything to go by, Yabu particularly excited. They also got a cookbook, because according to Inoo ramen was "all those poor people ate" and a plethora of baked goods.

      Yuto leapt to his feet, raising his glass high in the air. Time for a toast, Chinen supposed.

      "To the two most perfect, most made for each other, most in love people I have ever seen. To two soul mates. To Hikaru and Yabu!"

      The aforementioned couple beamed as everyone cheered, Chinen clinking his glass of water when anyone within arm's reach. Daiki opened his mouth, also about to say something, when a sharp knock on the front door made the entire room fall silent.

      "Did you invite someone else?" Takaki asked Inoo. The younger man shook his head, but he stood and walked over to the door, opening it.

      Standing there was a rather intimidating man in a suit, a manila folder in hand.

      "Is Takaki Yuya here?"

      There was a moment of silence where all eyes turned to Takaki. He was understandably confused, saying,

      "Yes, I'm here," and walking over. Inoo stepped back as soon as he was in front of the door, the man placing the folder he was holding in Takaki's hands.

      "Your mother told me that since you've been ignoring her calls, I had to place this in your hands directly. Please return the forms within a week's time, or she will consider your response to be a less than polite 'no, thank you'."

      What was in the folder? Chinen knew that Takaki's mother had been calling quite a bit lately, but he had never asked why or what about. Takaki always seemed rather stony-faced when his phone rang and it was her, so Chinen did his best not to bring it up. But now...

      "I'm sorry, but what is this?" Takaki asked. The man raised an eyebrow.

      "The official documents for your divorce with Chinen Yuri."

      The words rung in Chinen's ears, loud and painful, and for a moment Chinen couldn't believe what he had heard, hoping desperately that the man was wrong, that he had delivered the wrong divorce papers to the wrong Takaki Yuya.

      "You all seem to be having a celebration of some kind, so I won't intrude any longer." The man said, closing the door behind himself. Takaki still hadn't moved.

"Takaki?"

      Takaki turned very slowly at the sound of his voice. There wasn't confusion, or surprise, or even a bit of humor in his eyes, like Chinen had hoped, just a look of resigned dread. Takaki had known. Known what his mother was doing; known about the divorce.

      Takaki was going to divorce him.

      "Chinen--"

      Chinen didn't want to--couldn't--listen to anything Takaki had to say, all but running to the bedroom and locking the door, breathing hard, looking up, trying not to cry.

      The doorknob was tried, followed by a harsh pounding sound.

      "Chinen? Chinen! It's me, please open up."

      It was Yamada, so Chinen complied with his request. Yamada wasn't alone, dragging in a struggling Ryutaro by his arms. Once they were both inside, the door was shut and locked again. Yamada still didn't release Ryutaro.

      "I have to go punch him." The teenager was protesting. Yamada firmly shook his head. Chinen curled in a ball on Takaki's side of the bed and biting his lip, still trying not to cry.

      "Should I go hit him?" Ryutaro asked, wanting a second opinion. Chinen shook his head.

      "No, don't." Chinen felt pathetic, which in its own way was much worse than being sad or angry. Hadn't things been going well? Perhaps he had been too blinded by his own affection to notice that anything was going on. That he had done something wrong.

      He realized his tears just before they started falling and he cursed himself, sitting up and blinking furiously.

      "Chinen?" The tentative question was paired with a tentative knock. Takaki. "I need to talk to you."

      "Go away." Chinen hated how childish the statement was, how broken and unsure his voice sounded.

      "Chinen, please."

      "He said go away." Ryutaro's voice was firm and loud, unlike his own, not leaving much room at all for argument. Takaki tried anyway.

      "At least let me in there so you can hit me."

      Ryutaro looked rather enticed by the idea, but Chinen shook his head.

      "You really should talk to him." Yamada said quietly.

      "Why, so he can tell me where to sign?"

      "So he can tell you what's going on."

      "Chinen," Takaki still hadn't left. "Listen, I--"

      All Takaki's voice was doing was making the lump in his throat get larger, making his lungs tighten in his chest.

      "The band is performing tonight, aren't they? Don't you have somewhere to be?"

      Yamada looked at him disapprovingly, but Chinen didn't care. What he said seemed to have done the trick, because there was silence from the other side of the door, Chinen flopping onto his back.

      "Let him talk to you. He offered to be punched by Ryutaro, so he obviously feels bad and has some important things to say." Yamada reasoned.

      "If he wanted to break up with me, he could have just done it the way all other normal people do." Chinen grumbled. "His mother sending papers to get a divorce is just--"

      "You're being irrational." Yamada snapped, cutting him off. "Please don't turn this into some annoying romance movie where the conflict could have been resolved if the characters talked to each other."

      "What is there to resolve?" Chinen asked. It all seemed rather final, in his mind. "For what other reasons would his mother send him official documents to call off our marriage?"

      For that, Yamada didn't seem to have an answer. "I don't know. Just... Promise me you won't ignore him if he tries to explain himself."

      Chinen didn't feel like promising anything of the sort, and thankfully he didn't have to; there was a light knock on the door, Keito quietly asking

      "Can Yuto and I come in? We're going to leave."

      Yamada let them inside, and after hugging Chinen, the four of them left. For the first time since arriving at the house, Chinen felt utterly alone.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so embarrassed by the end of this fic honestly but I wrote it in 2014 so me @ me: idk what you expected  
> I hope you all liked it anyway!

     It was almost as if the past few months of their lives hadn't even happened. Takaki went back to sleeping on the couch without question, avoiding Chinen's eyes, disappearing for large parts of the day on his motorcycle and coming back with some sort of take-out meal for dinner. For the first few days, Chinen was thankful for the space and silence. He figured that this was it, they had broken up, and it was hard enough to share a space with Takaki and have his scent lingering in Chinen's bed sheets. If Takaki had tried to converse with him too, he probably would have completely broken down. But now, he just missed everything about Takaki, wanting to talk to him but not knowing how, or when, or what he would say.

     Chinen ignored messages from his friends, and they didn't stop by, leaving him with nothing but his schoolwork and his own thoughts. To avoid questions from Yamada and Daiki, because he knew Yamada would chide him, Chinen skipped dance rehearsal that week. When he came home from school on Friday, the last day Takaki had to turn the divorce papers in, the older man was sitting at the kitchen table, frowning down at the forms. Chinen decided to make this as painless as possible.

     "Wondering how to ask me to sign them?" He asked. Takaki looked rather shocked at being spoken to, raising his eyebrows. Then he smiled, and Chinen felt like he had been punched in the stomach.

     "I was thinking of the best way to destroy them, actually." Takaki said. "I was considering setting them on fire, but that seems like it could be rather risky. So, what do you think: simply ripping them to shreds or putting them in the blender and just seeing what happens?"

     "I... What?"

     "Unless you wanted to sign them." Takaki said. "In that case, we would have to get into an argument and go to couple's counseling, because I'm not letting you go that easily."

     "I don't understand." Hadn't they broken up? Hadn't Takaki wanted this divorce? He definitely had when they had first gotten married, and though things had changed, Chinen simply supposed that the desire had not.

     "I would like for my mother to consider my response to her offer as a less than polite 'no thank you'." Takaki was smiling again, and Chinen felt a tiny grin grow on his lips.

     "You... You don't want to divorce me?" A hopeful, almost-too-happy-to-be-real bubble rose in Chinen's chest. Takaki shook his head.

     "I tried to tell you that last week, but you wouldn't listen. I've been trying to wait until you were willing to talk, so I wouldn't make you angry, but the chance never came up..." Takaki shrugged. "I should have told you when it happened that my mother had offered a divorce to me, and for that I'm really, really sorry. But for what it's worth," Takaki glanced down at the documents on the table. "I never asked her to send these to me."

     Chinen felt like crying. It must have shown on his face because Takaki adopted a surprised expression, standing and putting a hand on his shoulder.

     "You okay?"

     "Of course I am, you idiot."

     That made Takaki laugh. Chinen had to ask, though,

     "Does this mean we didn't break up?"

     Takaki looked confused. "When did we break up?"

_Oh, thank god._

     Unable to resist, Chinen reached up and looped his arms around Takaki's neck, hugging him close, breathing him in. Takaki picked him up off the ground, holding him just as tightly before drawing back from the embrace to murmur,

     "Wow, I really missed you."

     Chinen pressed his lips to Takaki's own, the man responding immediately and with more emotion that Chinen had expected, kissing a trail down Chinen's neck. There was so much care, so much affection in Takaki's lips that Chinen couldn't help but let an elated giggle rise in his throat. Takaki pulled back to look at him, amused, raising an eyebrow. Chinen couldn't explain, simply smiling more and burying his face in Takaki's neck, clinging tighter, and internally vowing to never let go.

 

 

 

     "Hey Ryu. Let's play truth or dare."

     Ryutaro didn't even question the out-of-place statement, sitting next to Chinen on the couch. He had come over asking for Biology help, and now that the studying was over they were talking. Of course, the news of the no longer relevant divorce papers had been the first thing out of Chinen's mouth.

     "Who's going first?" Ryutaro asked.

     "Me." Chinen declared. "Truth or dare?"

     "Truth."

     "What is the full extent of you and Keito's relationship?"

     "Dare." Ryutaro said immediately.

     "I dare you to tell me the full extent of you and Keito's relationship." Chinen tried again.

     Ryutaro kept his mouth closed. Chinen let out a groan.

     "Why can't I know?" He whined.

     "Mostly because teasing you is funny." Ryutaro answered honestly, the completely groundless reason making Chinen roll his eyes. "Plus, you never tell me about your relationship."

     "That's because you don't want to hear about it." Chinen countered.

     "Sure I do!" Ryutaro protested. "Who said I didn't?"

     "Um, you. With the way you glare at Takaki all the time. Why do you dislike him so much?"

     "Oh, come on Chinen. I still haven't crippled him, even though I promised I would. That should be some testament to the fact that I like him a tiny, tiny bit."

     Chinen squinted at Ryutaro. "Do you actually want me to tell you?"

     "Sure." Ryutaro said with a shrug.

     "I gave Takaki a hickey in bed this morning. How's that?"

     Chinen couldn't tell if it was the word "hickey" or the phrase "in bed" that mortified Ryutaro more. He put his face in his hands, then shook it rapidly.

     "Okay, maybe you were right. I don’t want to hear about it."

     "Truth or dare?" Chinen asked again, giggling.

     "Truth." Ryutaro narrowed his eyes.

     "What are you getting me for by birthday?"

     "That's against the rules!" Ryutaro exclaimed immediately. "Truth or Dare clause twenty-three line eighty-seven: no asking for truths about birthday, Christmas, or other surprise gift related events."

     "But my birthday is only a day away!" Chinen protested. "The rules would barely be broken."

     Ryutaro raised his eyebrow. "No."

     Chinen pouted. "Fine."

     Later that evening, he got a text from Inoo.

_From: Daiki's Angel Face_

_You are hereby invited to the Super Dee-Duper Fun Not-So-Extravagant Birthday Extravaganza at Daiki's apartment! Daiki will pick you up at 3!_

 

 

 

     "Happy birthday!" Daiki said as soon as Chinen got in the car. "You feel old?"

     Chinen was twenty-one this year, and thankfully, he didn't quite feel like a senior citizen just yet.

     "Almost." He answered. Daiki laughed, the two making it to his place rather quickly.

     The apartment was mostly yellow and bright blue and green, thanks to the color selections in the balloons and streamers. He was swamped in hugs and exclamations as soon as he arrived. Everyone was there except Takaki, whose disappearance was explained after the initial birthday wishes and hugs had been given.

     "He went out to get the ‘second sweetest thing coming to this party’: the cake." Yabu said. "His words, not mine. He left the same time Daiki did, so he shouldn't be gone much longer."

     Chinen nodded in understanding, smiling a little, all of them sitting around and easily entertaining themselves with conversation. Chinen was in the middle of a word when he noticed something silver and shiny on Yamada's middle finger.

     "Is that ring new?" He asked. "It's nice."

     "Well, Yuto and I...”

     At the mention of his name, the tall man held up his hand as well. He had a same ring on the same finger.

     "If you got engaged too I swear--"

     Yamada's eyebrows shot all the way up his forehead.

     "I... No!" He said immediately, Yuto laughing at his desperation. "We just..." He trailed off hopelessly.

     "Couple rings." Daiki explained, Chinen wiping an invisible line of sweat off his forehead.

     "What's wrong with that?" Yuto sounded defensive. "Why couldn't I marry Yamada?"

     The man in question's eyes grew the size of saucers and he gave Yuto a look.

     "Hypothetically!" Yuto backpedaled immediately. The entire room was laughing now, even the tension on Yamada's face defused by his boyfriend's expression.

     "How about you check back with that idea in ten years." Hikaru suggested. "That's what worked for me."

     When thirty minutes had passed and Takaki still hadn't returned, everyone began to become annoyed. By the time a full hour had gone by, that annoyance had transformed into worry.

     "He does know the way back here, right? He knows this is where the party is? He knows that we only needed one cake, not twenty?" Inoo asked.

     "Yes, yes, yes." Daiki answered. "If he was going to be this late, he could have at least called to apologize."

     "Maybe someone should call him." Ryutaro suggested flatly. The idea was a ridiculously simple one that no one had thought of, trying to decide who should call him when Chinen's phone rang.

     "Is it Takaki?" Yabu asked as he pulled the device out of his pocket. It was an unfamiliar number, Chinen shaking his head and answering.

     "Hello?"

     "Is this Chinen Yuri?" A female voice Chinen did not know was on the other end.

     "Yes? Who is this?"

     She was a receptionist at the nearby hospital, she said. "You are listed as Takaki Yuya's emergency contact. Your, um... Husband is in the hospital."

     "Hospital?"

     The word echoed dully, painfully, deafeningly, through Chinen's body, hand clenching tightly around his cell phone. Everyone around him was silent and frozen, waiting anxiously for more information.

     "There was a vehicle accident." The woman continued. Chinen shut his eyes. "He just exited emergency care and his room is now open to visitors."

     "I could go see him?" Anxiety bubbled in Chinen's chest at the woman's affirmation.

     "Thank you." Chinen said, hanging up. He took a deep breath, hanging his head for a moment.

     "What is it?" Inoo finally asked.

     Saying the words made them true, and Chinen could feel tears pricking his eyes as he spoke. "Yuya is in the hospital." He knew it was dumb to be upset to the point of crying, because the lady had said that Takaki was in a stable condition, but he couldn't help it. "We can go visit though, she said."

     "Then we're going." Ryutaro said. Chinen gave his friend a grateful look, and after piling in Daiki and Yuto's cars, they sped there as quickly as possible. Chinen got the room number from the front desk, jogging down the hallway, leaving the rest of the group behind. Tears welled up despite how forcefully he tried to contain them as he broke into a run, completely spilling down his cheeks as he pushed open the door.

     Takaki looked terrible. One arm was in a sling and there was a bandage around both his forehead and his mussed up hair, parts of his arms wrapped in gauze. Despite all this, his lidded eyes lifted to the opened door and he gave Chinen a small smile.

     "Hey."

     "What the hell?!" Concern and relief had raised Chinen's voice a few octaves and he stalked up to his boyfriend, hands rounded into fists. "How could you...? On my birthday! I thought..."

     His frustration kept giving way, voice weakening into tears, and he was just standing next to Takaki's hospital bed, crying. The initial shock--that there had been an accident--was wearing off, and the fact that Takaki wasn't in any serious danger was settling in, the relief washing through him. He was okay.

     Takaki took Chinen's hand, rubbing his thumb across the back of it, and Chinen gave him a frown.

     "You idiot." He said.

     "I was waiting for you to say that." Takaki's voice was hoarse, slow, and tired, Chinen's heart faltering in his chest.

     "Don't you  _ever_ do this again, because I love you too much to survive another phone call like that." Chinen confessed. For the few seconds between being told Takaki had been in an accident and saying he was open to visitors, Chinen was sure his heart had stopped in his chest. He couldn't take that again. Takaki didn't seem to understand the seriousness in his statement, smiling at him widely.

     "You love me?" He asked.

     "Yeah." When and how it had happened he wasn't sure, but he did, completely."I'm pretty sure I do."

     Takaki tugged him a bit closer to the bed by his hand, smile still there, eyes on Chinen's as he said,

     "Good. Because I'm pretty sure I love you too."

     An incredible amount of affection welled in Chinen's chest and he tightened his grip on Takaki's hand, entwining their fingers, leaning down and kissing him. It was sweet and slow, Takaki sighing as he leaned his head back on his pillows.

     "That can't be good for my concussion." He remarked.

     "Wow, you look pretty terrible." Daiki said from behind them, Chinen turning. Everyone followed in behind Daiki, Chinen realizing with slight mortification that he had left the room's door open.

     "What happened to you?" Hikaru asked.

     "A silver SUV." Takaki answered. "It wasn't a head on collision or anything, thankfully. The car ran a red light and I tried to get out of the way, but it clipped me." He disentangled his hand from Chinen's pointing to his left arm, the one in the cast. "This is how that happened. The rest of it is just from being flung off the bike."

     "What all is 'the rest of it'?" Yuto asked. Takaki did have a lot of bandages.

     Takaki pointed to each injured area as he said it. "Concussion--it's not too bad, really--bruised ribs, my arm is broken, and I got a good deal of road burn." Each bandage on his arm was hiding a large, ugly scrape. "I also, um... Lost the cake somehow."

     "You had one job." Inoo said. "One!"

     Replacing his hand in Chinen's, Takaki sighed out "Sorry."

     "Well, at least you can never give Chinen a worse birthday present." Yuto remarked. That garnered some laughs.

     "I promise not to get hit by a car on your birthday every again." Takaki vowed.

     "Good."

     "It's great that you're alive and everything, but this kind of ruins the party plans, doesn't it?" Inoo asked. Takaki nodded.

     "I have to stay here overnight so they can make sure my concussion isn't anything too bad." Takaki answered. "I accidentally told a doctor my name was 'I need the cake' when I came to, so they're a bit worried."

     "Would they let me stay here with you?" Chinen asked. Takaki smiled.

     "I hope so."

     "Hospital sleepover. Romantic." Hikaru remarked.

     "Oh shut up." Takaki threw back. They talked for a little while longer, but by then everyone was hungry.

     "It's been fun watching your delayed reactions to questions, but it's time for me to eat dinner." Inoo said, standing and stretching.

     "Hey, don't make fun of my brain injury!" Takaki protested. Everyone laughed and gave him hugs, saying goodnight and filing out. Chinen, who found out he was able to stay, left the room with Yamada, wanting to find some dinner as well. When he came back from the hospital cafeteria, one tray of food in each hand, Takaki was holding a cupcake.

     "Happy birthday." Takaki said with a smile. "I know it's small, and that I didn't make it myself--actually, that could be a good thing--but I still wanted you to have some form of cake on your birthday."

     "I..." Takaki was so thoughtful. Chinen wanted to say some form of 'thank you', but instead a rather rushed, embarrassing, 'I love you' came out from between his lips. Takaki beamed.

     "I love you too, Yuri."

 

 

 

     Chinen had no idea how whiny Takaki could be. He used his injuries as excuses for everything, making Chinen get up and do everything for him, even things that they both knew he could do himself. Chinen would have minded, but when he came home from class to the bed misshapenly made, or an adorable attempt at dinner, or a little melody for him that Takaki had thought up while stranded at home alone all day, it was more than worth it.

     Time passed at a regular pace, everything changing and yet staying more or less the same at the same time. Difficulty in classes fluctuated at different parts of the semester, dance practice was still as enjoyable as ever, except for that now it had a less serious feel to it because it was usually just Chinen and Daiki there together. Yamada had entered an extremely competitive dance contest, and while he hadn't gotten first, his talents had been recognized immediately. He was often somewhere else, touring as a backup dancer for some big name group. He had been offered a role in a musical as well, and though he declined it due to his lack of vocal training, the doorway for both singing and dancing had been opened to him. Thanks to this though, he and Yuto had gotten quite good at long distance. Yuto said he didn't mind it, because it was for the sake of Yamada's dream, but how much he complained at band rehearsals about missing his boyfriend brought the truth to light. Yamada missed him just as much though, and whenever he was back the two spent every moment, waking and sleeping, together.

     Inoo and Daiki had moved in together, an event all of them had seen coming since the start of their relationship. For the sake of the running joke--and much to Chinen's displeasure--not much was revealed where Keito and Ryutaro's relationship was involved. Ryutaro was into both university and his own apartment, and though Keito wasn't living with him, everything seemed fine.

     Hikaru and Yabu's lives seemed to move faster than everyone else's throughout the year. They had the ceremony, the wedding nice and traditional, then they bought a nice big apartment and an extremely adorable young dog that Hikaru often brought with him to work. They officially had the nicest apartment out of all of them, so when the leaves recycled themselves and Chinen's birthday rolled around yet again, they held the party there.

     "I officially feel old." Chinen declared once the poppers had been popped and the confetti had been thrown, a hat shaped like a birthday cake placed on his head by Yamada. That garnered some laughs, Takaki coming behind him and covering his eyes, leading him carefully into the kitchen before letting him see again. In the middle was a lovely, obviously homemade, and much-too-large cake.

     "We made it." Inoo said proudly.

     "Oh shut up, you sat on the counter and ate icing the whole time." Ryutaro said, Inoo sticking his tongue out at him.

     "I love it." Chinen declared. Not only did it look great; it tasted great too, everyone standing around in the kitchen as they ate, telling stories of what all had happened to them since they had last seen each other. The most exciting story by far was Yamada's, and how he had met his idol, Domoto Koichi, on the tour he had just come back from.

     There was one thing that kept bothering Chinen though, the young man even turning to ask Takaki about it.

     "Why does everyone keep looking at me?"

     The entire group had excited smiles on their faces, as though they were waiting for Chinen to fall into some practical joke.

     Takaki just smiled, shoving his hands in his pockets with a shrug.

     "They're happy. It's your birthday."

     Somehow, Chinen just couldn't believe him, feeling a bit wary throughout the entire process. The gifts were a bit strange, half of them rather functional household items instead of little knickknacks they thought he would like.

     "Hey!" Chinen turned to Takaki indignantly after all of the presents had been opened, and Takaki's name hadn't been on a single one. "You didn't get me anything!"

     He wasn't actually, honestly upset, but a chance to whine at Takaki wasn’t something he ever passed up.

     "I... I actually do have something for you. Come here."

     Chinen was slightly confused by the request. They were only about three steps away from each other, Chinen sitting on a plushy armchair and Takaki in the middle of the room, but he complied, standing. He stopped in front of Takaki, looking at him expectantly, and after a moment of inspection he realized that Takaki was nervous. Takaki was smiling at him with a look of extreme affection, yet somehow at the same time his hands were fidgeting inside his pockets. He didn't begin speaking, Chinen having to prompt him. It reminded Chinen of when Takaki confessed to him, and that made a little bubble of nervous energy rise into in his chest.

     "So?" He asked. "What's my present?"

     "I have to tell you something first."

     "Oh my god." Inoo said from a corner of the room, getting a glare from Takaki. All of their friends had backed against the walls, giving them as much space as possible in Hikaru and Yabu’s living room, and Chinen was now thoroughly confused. Takaki began to speak.

     "As everyone is aware, I don't know much. I don't know how to do the math problems you can, I don't know how to read as much kanji as you can, and I don't know how to cook."

     Chinen was about to ask if this was going anywhere, his answer made obvious when Takaki knelt down on one knee, pulling a small box out of his pocket. When he popped it open, a ring sparkled inside, bold and beautiful. He couldn't keep the cliché gasp at bay, wrapping his arms around his body, clutching at his sides.

     "I don't know if this is too soon, or if you'll want to say yes. I do know, however, that I want nothing more than to marry you, and if you do say yes I will do my very best to make you as happy as I possibly can. Chinen Yuri, will you marry me?"

     Chinen's heart was pounding in his throat, elation filling his body. Then he realized that Takaki was still kneeling, patiently waiting for his far-too-obvious answer.

     "You don't know if I would say yes?" He asked. "We're already married!"

     Takaki smiled a little. "Is that another yes, then?"

     "Of course. Of course it is; yes, yes, yes."

     The entire room cheered and Takaki beamed, scooping Chinen up in his arms and lifting him off his feet, holding him close to his chest and pressing a kiss to his lips. Chinen knew, in that moment, that this was the happiest he had ever been in his life.


End file.
